If you think that the only dirty place in the office is the toilet, then you are in for a surprise. The office is filled with places that can harbour germs and other nasty things. Studies show that germs that are found in the office hang out on surfaces, not in wet and dank nooks.

Here is a list of places that might not be on your radar of germ havens in the office:

The bathroom sink
Most of the germs in the sink are found in the faucet handle. It’s by far the dirtiest surface in the office. The rationale behind this is that most of us wash our hands (after using the toilet) with the faucet, thus we deposit a lot of germs on the handle. It would be a good idea to have the faucet handle cleaned as often as possible. It would also be good to have faucets with self-closing mechanisms so you do not have to touch it again after washing your hands.

The microwave
While the inside of the microwave would probably be relatively clean because of the heat, the handles of the microwave door would be the dirtiest part of the appliance. Again, this is something that most of us use and as such, we deposit a lot of bacteria on it. Plus, when we have food on our hands when we touch the handle, this would promote more bacteria growth. Wipe down the microwave handle as often as possible to keep it clean.

The keyboard
If you notice the trend here – the things that we use often have the most bacteria. The keyboard also has another dirty surprise. It has spaces in between keys where food particles can be lodged when you eat while working. Rotting food equals more bacteria. Make it a habit to keep your keyboard clean by wiping it down and blowing compressed air in between the spaces.

The fridge
The refrigerator handle is among the top places where bacteria hang out. This is especially true when the kitchen fridge is shared by a lot of employees. Each time we open the fridge we deposit germs and also get bacteria into our hands to spread around. So keep the handle clean with a good wipe each day and also avoid using the handle when you have food residue on your hands.

Water fountains
Again, the handle or the button that you press to engage the fountain is the dirtiest part of it. It would be a good idea to find a fountain that is operated by stepping on a switch rather than one with a button.

Vending machines
The vending machine is a unique combination of buttons plus money. When you add money to the mix then you have something that is really dirty as it has been passed on from thousands if not millions of hands. So the next time you buy snacks from the vending machine, do sanitise your hands.

Desk surface
The last item on our list is the humble desk surface. This is where we spend most of our office lives and we don’t often think of it as a haven for germs. So, give your desk a wipe before starting work and before leaving the office to keep it as clean as you can. It would also help if you sanitise your hands before going to your desk after touching anything that is on this list.

There are a lot more things in the office that are germ havens. Statistics show that 60% of office related illnesses come from dirty surfaces. It would be a wise move to have these surfaces kept clean at all times. Have a cleaning schedule in place and spread the word on how to clean office spaces. Each of us should be responsible for keeping the office clean.

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