You Should Clean Your Keyboard More Often Than Your Bathroom - Here's Why

For reasons we certainly don't need to explore, it goes without being said that you should keep your bathroom clean. However, there are other everyday surfaces that can be easy to overlook while cleaning your home. Consider your computer's keyboard. Whether you use a laptop or a desktop, there's a good chance your keyboard is home to far more bacteria than you realize, according to the National Center for Health Research. Because this is a surface you likely touch every day, it's wise to clean it regularly.

How often should a keyboard be cleaned? Various factors can influence the answer to that question, including how regularly you use your keyboard. That said, based on the findings of researchers published in the African Journal of Microbiology, wiping down your keyboard and related computer accessories at least once a week is advisable. You'll understand why when you find out just how much bacteria your keyboard may be home to.

Per the National Center for Health Research report, researchers from Australia's Swinburne University of Technology looked into how dirty the average computer keyboard typically is by studying the presence of bacteria on keyboards throughout the university. The team studied faculty members' personal computers as well as public devices. They discovered the average keyboard tends to be a high-bacteria surface, with shared keyboards being particularly dirty.

Other researchers have arrived at similar findings. Perhaps more importantly, they've discovered that the types of bacteria that may survive on a computer keyboard can be dangerous. For example, researchers who studied the presence of bacteria on keyboards at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago learned that multiple forms of potentially deadly drug-resistant bacteria could survive on a keyboard for as long as 24 hours.

But don't just focus on your keyboard. According to researchers with the University of Arizona, the number of bacteria on an average desk is about 400 times greater than that of a toilet seat. Try not to think of that when composing your next email.

Keeping your keyboard free from bacteria is important to staying healthy but knowing how to disinfect it is important to avoid damaging the keyboard. The best way to clean a keyboard varies depending on whether you're working a laptop or an external device, but using the right tools to clean a keyboard makes a significant difference in how easy the process is and how thorough the results are. For example, the right computer-safe air duster removes dust and debris without damaging your keyboard's fragile components, while various gels and related products help clean out the small nooks that might otherwise get ignored.

Since you're taking the time to learn how to keep your workspace more hygienic, it's worth learning about how to give your computer an overall cleaning. Remember, cleaning your computer and keyboard isn't just about sanitizing; It's also about optimizing the overall lifespan of these devices. By giving your computer equipment a little more attention now and then, you'll help keep your devices in good working order for years to come.