It’s that time of year when people get colds and are coughing and sneezing more (well at least in the Northern Hemisphere!). Have you ever thought about how clean the tech you use might be?
Research by University of Arizona found that the average desktop has 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat! So just how clean is your tech and what can you do about it?!
The same study from the University of Arizona found that keyboards had 40 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. That doesn’t sound good does it!
If you use a share computer (at a workplace, library church, etc.) it’s likely to be worse as you’ll be sharing germs from others, not just your own…
Rather than gross you out more, there’s a good article on the subject at the National Center for Research for Women & Families.
So our tech is gross – not just keyboards, mice, phones, TV remotes and more have been found to have yucky levels of germs – how can we clean our tech?
The advise of the linked article is all good (washing you hand regularly and also using Alcohol-based hand gels are a good idea). But their method for cleaning keyboards (using compressed air and then q-tips) can take ages and you’re not sure how clean it’s really getting…
Cyber Clean
Another easy way is to use Cyber Clean. I’ve been a fan of it and have used it for years. It’s a brightly coloured re-usable gel/putty/gunk that you can squish on your tech to really clean it – or as they put it:
Cyber Clean is a unique compound designed especially for cleaning and disinfecting places and surfaces not reached by conventional cleaning solutions. Cyber Clean’s products protect you against harmful bacteria and promote a healthy living environment, be it at home, at the workplace or when travelling.
They also do products for cleaning screens, car interiors and even inside shoes! To find out just how gross your keyboard might be, you can take a test on the Cyber Clean site and also read more about germs and where they might be lurking!
I’m off to get my pot of Cyber Clean out and get cleaning!
So how do you clean your tech?
How often do you clean any tech at your Church?
Brendan says
At our church we typically just wring out a disinfectant wipe (so that it is damp but no longer dripping), then use that to wipe keyboards down. That has however ruined a laptop keyboard for us once. Most of the time we’re fine, but it is a costly fix!
How does the Cyber Clean stuff disinfect?
James Cooper says
Got to be careful with the wet stuff and electrics! Check out the Cyberclean site for how it does its stuff! http://www.cyberclean.net/cleaning/en/Products/homeoffice/How_To.html