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Techs can avoid cold/flu viruses by washing hands
Pat Vickers

Techs are constantly touching other user's keyboards, mice, and phones. While this contact may seem harmless, I have always theorized that this interaction is the cause of many a support tech's misery during the cold and flu season. If I'm right, not only do support techs pick up cold and/or flu bugs from end users' peripherals, they also pass them to other keyboards and, therefore, to other people. I decided to investigate this, and here's what I found. [more]

Very good reading!!

I wash my hands several times a day,its good practice me thinks!!

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Good practical thread — a few concise, evidence-backed points for techs who handle lots of shared gear.

rightly highlights basic hand hygiene. The CDC recommends wetting hands, applying soap, scrubbing all surfaces (backs of hands, between fingers, under nails) for at least 20 seconds, rinsing, and drying with a single-use towel; when soap and water are unavailable, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol is the alternative (). Those steps reduce the chance of transferring respiratory and gastrointestinal pathogens during frequent client visits.

Shared peripherals benefit from routine, careful disinfection. Before cleaning, power devices off and follow manufacturer guidance. For hard, nonporous surfaces such as keyboards, mice, and phones, alcohol-based wipes (around 70% isopropyl) or an EPA-registered disinfectant are appropriate; avoid spraying liquid directly into openings (). The EPA’s List N helps identify effective products for common pathogens (EPA List N).

Practical checklist for field tech workflows: keep alcohol-based sanitizer and single-use wipes in toolkits; wipe high-touch gear between customers or at shift change; use nitrile gloves for dirty jobs but wash hands after glove removal; and stay off-site when symptomatic. These routine steps build on observations by and and help protect both techs and users without needing exotic measures.

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Nice article and timeless, too.

But don't they say kids should lick some shoes daily to get some immunity to most common germs? I used to work as a salesman for 18 years and rarely got sick, although I shook hands about 30 times a day and couldn't wash my hands very often. I even used to eat while driving from customer to another. Without washing hands, of course...

I guess the secret was in my physical condition. I didn't exercise, but I had to walk quite a lot with my heavy bag from the nearest free parking lot to the customer's office and back. I also used stairs a lot.

But I really agree, that touching your face, mainly eyes or nostrils, is the way to pick up those flu bugs among other things. I noticed this painfully during a 10 km's car trip: I had struck a cat, although I'm allergic to them. Of course it made my eyes itch, so naturally I grinded my eyeballs with my knuckles, the result being an almost unbearable painly itching. A thorough rinsing with plain water helped a lot, before I could get some medication.

Member Avatar for vmanes

Keyboard, mouse and phone were among the top 5 dirtiest objects in the office environment, according to some unnamed survey my morning radio show folks discussed recently.

What's the dirtiest part of the office?
Women's Desks dirtier
(funny, both of these mention that desks are 400 times more germ-laden than a toilet!)

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