Computer keyboards can be dirtier than a toilet !

[devils casper]

Here is the Story !

IIRC, We have discussed about Keyboard cleanliness earlier too. ( I couldn't locate that thread. )
I usually clean my KeyBoard every week. What about you? Is it as clean as new one or dirtier than toilet?

[techieMoe]

Stories like this pop up at least once a year, sometimes more frequently. I don't necessarily disagree with their findings, but the whole "On my god! We're all going to catch malaria from unclean keyboards!" hysteria is grossly overdone.

Toilets (and bathrooms in general) have been shown to be rife with all sorts of bacteria and other nasties. However the cases of people getting seriously ill from them are generally quite rare. Humans have developed immunities to the most common pathogens we're exposed to on a daily basis. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about a keyboard or a toilet seat.

I do occasionally wipe down my desk and keyboard, but I hardly think we all need to douse our workstations with bleach every morning.

[Jonathan183]

I don't usually clean my keyboard, but I also don't usually eat while using a computer either. I will make a point of washing my hands before eating after using a keyboard in future . Mouse mats can be as bad.

[hazel]

Surely it depends on who uses your computer. At one extreme you have the hot-desking office where lots of people use the same keyboard; at the other, you have someone who lives alone using a home computer. If you fall into this category, you can't catch anything from your keyboard no matter how dirty it is, because it will only contain the bugs you already have. Even if several members of a family use the same keyboard, the chances of them catching anything are probably low because they are probably already immune to one another's intestinal flora.

[Jonathan183]

probably already immune to one another's intestinal flora.

Thanks for the image that has created ....

[techieMoe]

...Even if several members of a family use the same keyboard, the chances of them catching anything are probably low because they are probably already immune to one another's intestinal flora.

(Emphasis mine) Wow, hazel. That's a mental image I didn't need.

::EDIT:: It appears I wasn't alone in that reaction. Haha.

[hazel]

My, we're squeamish, aren't we! That happens to be the correct technical term. But the principle is well known. You've probably all heard of "turista" (aka Montezuma's Revenge, aka Delhi Belly, aka Tokyo Trots). It happens because tourists abroad come into contact with races of E. coli that they haven't met at home. Conversely, people who live together seldom pick up bugs from each other unless it's an epidemic that one of them caught from outside.

[elija]

Speaking personally, I clean my keyboard at least once a week, but
that is just to get rid of the cat hair and stop it getting sticky!

[edit]
I just re-read that and would like to point out it gets sticky from cats walking all over it!
[/edit]

[questio verum]

Mouse mats can be as bad.

Worse in my opinion. Except for the teflon gaming pads.


Still... I wish I could find one of those clear rubbery membrane layovers that used to be available for the old IBM keyboards. Dust, slough, and other trash accumulating between the keys is a pet peeve of mine. I've disassembled and cleaned more than one keyboard due to that.

qv

[smolloy]

Obligatory xkcd

xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language - By Randall Munroe