Even a computer screen is less dirty than this accessory that you transport everywhere!
It is an object that you probably touched this morning, handled mechanically, starting from your home, deposited next to your coffee or slipped to the bottom of a bag. In short, it follows you everywhere and yet it is rarely, if never, cleaned. A study has just shown that it houses up to four times more bacteria than a phone screen.
Indeed, the British site Money Supermarket has measured the quantity of bacteria present on different everyday objects. For that, they interviewed 2,000 drivers and sent to the lab a series of elements that are touched every day, from the toilet to the smartphone screen. The results were quite eloquent. A computer keyboard, for example, presents an index of 68 on average. A telephone, 66. The downstream of the toilet explodes everything with 1,100.
And then there is this object, which we keep in his pocket, in his handbag, which one leaves dragging on the counters, which one handles all day long. His score? 241. Or almost four times more bacteria than on a touch screen. The experts then sound the alarm: it’s not only dirty, it is also potentially dangerous. Doctor Joe Latimer, microbiologist and microbe director Consulting LTD, explains that the bacteria present on car keys are mostly without immediate risk, but some can cause infections, especially in hospital. He quotes Staphylococcus epidermidis, a normally harmless microbe on the skin, but formidable when he infiltrates the body, for example after an operation.
Another unpleasant surprise: the researchers also spotted bacteria of intestinal origin. And for good reason: rarely cleaned, never disinfected, it concentrates a small invisible ecosystem, which is why experts recommend regular wash with a soft and humid cloth and a little soap. However, no bleach, at the risk of damaging the internal components.
