579 days

Athima Chansanchai

Touchscreen cooties: your iPad has germs!

bed bugsSacramento Bee articleflu.govUniversity of Arizona findings in 2002

In fact, the average desk harbors 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat. “For bacteria, a desk is really the laptop of luxury,” said Gerba. “They can feast all day from breakfast to lunch and even dinner.” Gerba and his researchers found that unless desks were wiped clean with a disinfectant during the day, bacteria levels climbed higher and higher, peaking after lunch.

The top five most germ-contaminated spots were (in order):
1. Phone
2. Desktop
3. Water fountain handle
4. Microwave door handle
5. Keyboard Throughout the day, levels of bacteria among non-wipes users increased by as much as 31 percent. Among wipes users, illness-causing microorganisms were reduced 99 percent or more, even in the most contaminated areas.

patent a paper about designing surfaces that would kill bacteria on contact