A recent study has revealed the top dirtiest and most harmful areas within offices—and you might be surprised to learn that toilet seats are not on the list.
The study, conducted by UK-based office furniture supplier, Furniture At Work, found five of the top germiest areas can’t even be found in a restroom. Instead, surfaces within office kitchens appear to be of bigger concern.
Door handles, with 30 times more bacteria than a toilet seat, more topped the list for 2023. Office sinks followed in second place, with 23 times more bacteria; microwave doors were third, with 19 times more bacteria; mobile phones were fourth, with 16 times more bacteria; and water kettles were fifth, with 13 times more bacteria.
Not until you get to the sixth spot is there something located in restrooms—restroom faucets carry 11 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.
In the last four places were office chairs (10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat), kitchen refrigerators and desk phones (tied, with nine times more bacteria), and computer keyboards (eight times more bacteria).
To draw its conclusions, the company used a Hygiena ATP Monitoring System, commonly used in hospital and health care facilities, to collect at relative light unit (RLU) reading.
The RLU reading directly correlates to the amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on a surface. ATP can be found in all organic matter. So, when an RLU reading is high, that means the amount of ATP on a surface is also high, which indicates the presence of bacteria.
Furniture At Work has suggested the following ways to keep all office areas cleaner and safer:
1. Use indoor plants to kill airborne viruses
According to Furniture At Work, studies have shown that plants growing in soil are highly effective at removing indoor air pollutants.
2. Clean regularly
As obvious as it might seem, cleaning needs to occur regularly and often.
3. Use antibacterial products
Killing germs requires more than a simple wipe down with a wet cloth. Use antibacterial products that are designed specifically to remove bacteria and other germs.
4. Don’t forget the less obvious areas
Make sure cleaning teams hit the listed top 10 office hotspots, which might easily get ignored or forgotten.
5. Wash and sanitise your hands
To keep from passing bacteria between office surfaces and co-workers, wash hands and use sanitiser regularly. Keep sanitiser in convenient spots throughout the office.
This article was first published by CMM. Read the original article here.
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