For those who eat at their desks: Think twice

A germ study shows a toilet seat is cleaner than the typical workplace desk.
ORLANDO SENTINEL
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jon Kane's workday usually stretches from 9 in the morning to 8 at night. To keep it from being even longer, the Orlando attorney eats lunch at his desk.
On a recent workday, Kane's midday meal consisted of a package of StarKist tuna and crackers, washed down with a Coke.
Kane has plenty of company in the working world. A February 2004 survey of more than 1,500 workers nationwide found that 42 percent of workers regularly eat lunch at their desks.
Eating at your desk may be time-efficient, but, from a health-and-hygiene standpoint, you're better off lunching in the company restroom.
Really.
About the study
Three summers ago, University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba conducted a "workplace germ study" in four U.S. cities: Tucson, Ariz., San Francisco, New York and Tampa.
Gerba and his team of researchers took bacteria samples from 12 different workplace surfaces -- from desktops, phones and keyboards to water-fountain handles, elevator buttons and toilet seats.
On average, toilet seats had bacteria levels of 49 per square inch -- the lowest of the 12 surfaces tested. On average, desktops had bacteria levels that were 428 times higher: 20,961 per square inch.
In case you're confused by all those numbers, here's the summary: A toilet seat is cleaner than your desk.
And desktops were only No. 2 among the germ-coated workplace surfaces tested. The winner: Desk telephones, which had 25,127 bacteria per square inch.
The workplace germ study was funded by Clorox, which makes disinfecting wipes designed to kill all those nasty bacteria. Nevertheless, Gerba's findings were unambiguous: "The average desktop has more bacteria than any surface tested in the bathroom," his study concluded.
Here's why
There is a logical explanation to this off-putting finding.
Most workplace bathrooms, including those checked in Gerba's study, undergo regular janitorial cleaning with strong disinfectants. Work desks, particularly cluttered ones, can go weeks, months, even years between cleanings.
Bob Ashley, professor of food-service management at the University of Central Florida, explains that humans are able to tolerate "a reasonable amount of germs."
But he rarely, if ever, eats at his desk. Just thinking about it makes him uncomfortable.
"There's an accumulation over time of people coughing, sneezing and talking over their desks," says Ashley, who teaches at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
Ashley says cross-contamination is hard to avoid when eating at your desk. The sandwich may lay on a paper wrapper instead of the desktop, but then you pick it up with the same hand that held the phone or typed on the keyboard.
In addition to frequent hand washing "for at least 20 seconds and rinsing under the hottest water you can stand," Ashley advises using an antibacterial spray to clean the desktop, keyboard, mouse and phone regularly -- at least once a week.
He also likes the idea of keeping a waterless antibacterial hand cleaner at the desk and using it before eating.
If you're eating a sandwich or sub, use the paper wrapper to hold it as you eat, Ashley adds.
If you're using a utensil, make sure it's clean and does not touch the desk.