If you indulge in a little "desktop dining" at work while reading your e-mail, stop. Now. You know your desk is a mess, but do you know it also reeks of bacteria and germs?

This is the true state of your office desk: The toilet seat in the office bathroom is cleaner, CNN reports of a study conducted by University of Arizona researchers. Led by microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba, the team tracked disease-causing bacteria and germs in offices in New York, San Francisco, Tampa, and Tucson and found there are 400 times more germs on the typical office desk than there on the typical office toilet seat.

The worst places for bacteria in the office are (in order and on average):

• Telephone: 25,127 germs per square inch
• Desktop: 20,961 germs per square inch
• Keyboard: 3,295 germs per square inch
• Computer mouse: 1,676 germs per square inch
• Toilet seat: 49 germs per square inch

And you might want to wash your hands after you send a fax. Bacteria levels on the typical office fax machine are three times higher than on the bathroom door.

Gerba's team collected samples three times a day from 12 office surfaces using state-of-the art technology, such as an ultraviolet "germ meter." A total of 7,000 samples were collected nationwide. His study showed that bacteria levels actually climbed during the workday--even on tidy desks. In this case, the only neatness that counts is the kind that involves real cleaning of surfaces with something more than a feather duster. "Without cleaning, a small area on your desk or phone can sustain millions of bacteria that could potentially cause illness," warns Gerba.

Why are our offices teeming with bacteria? Blame it on longer work hours and our penchant for eating everything from snacks to complete meals at our desks. The combination has created an environment that is ideal for bacterial contamination. "For bacteria, a desk is really the lap of luxury," Gerba told CNN. "They can feast all day from breakfast to lunch and even dinner."

What can you do? Scrub your desk daily with a disinfectant wipe to reduce the bacterial levels by 99 percent.  Get your office equipment professionally cleaned once or twice a year.

Good advice: Don't eat at your desk. Take your brown bag lunch to the cafeteria.

To bring the POWER OF CLEAN to your workspace, please contact no germs today.

clean@nogerms.ca

            www.nogerms.ca