How Dirty Is Your Mouse?

Nik Rawlinson pulls his rubber gloves and explores how you can best give your tech kit a spring clean.

You wash your hands after using the toilet, but how often do you wash them after typing? Researchers for CBT Nuggets, who swabbed a range of items in a typical office, found that the typical keyboard is around 20,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat. On the keyboards they tested, scientists found over 3.5million colony-forming units of bacteria, yeast or mould per square inch, compared to just 172 on a toilet seat.

It’s a similar situation when you compare computer mice to toilet handles (1.37million colony-forming units per square inch versus just 30). If that sounds surprising, remember that we regularly clean our bathrooms.When did you last clean your computer – or your phone, come to that? The same study found that the average smartphone harbours 1.6million colony-forming units over every square inch.

Cleaning your kit won’t make your computer run faster or last longer, but it will make your desk amore pleasant place to spend the working day and could, conceivably, reduce the likelihood of you falling sick. So let’s look at the most effective ways of cleaning your IT kit. None of them costs much money or is difficult to perform, but each should offer some peace of mind.

The keyboard

You probably spend more time touching your keyboard than even your mouse – so it’s a good starting point. To begin, unplug it or, if you’re using a laptop, turn off the power and disconnect the charger.

A surprising amount of dirt can become trapped between or beneath the keys, especially if you’re using a keyboard with raised buttons. Start by laying a piece of paper on your desk, turning the keyboard upside-down and shaking out as much as you can. You may be surprised by how much is released, although this will be far from everything.