BRACE yourselves. Have you heard the one about how your desk at work is likely to be far more germ-laden than most lavatories? It is, unfortunately, absolutely true.

Because people are aware of the germ potential in loos, these are frequently scrubbed, cleaned and disinfected. But there is no germ awareness of the average workstation, sometimes with stomach-churning results — and yes, that could mean literally.

An average lavatory seat might have 49 germ microbes per square inch. But a telephone would have up to 25,000, a keyboard 3,500 and a mouse 1,500-2,000.

Apart from the fact that cleaning and disinfecting workstations is an almost non-existent activity, other factors come into play. For example, telephones are often used by more than one person, creating the perfect environment to pass on germs. But why should the average keyboard and mouse be such a health hazard?

Chris Bratt, sales manager of AF International, which makes office-cleaning products, says: “People eat at their desks, so food debris falls into the keyboard. They also lean over their keyboards, so eyelashes, dead skin cells and nasal droppings fall in.” Ugh.

He adds that hot-desking compounds the problem: “This is particularly so in call centres, where you might have three people working consecutive eight-hour shifts. You really need to clean every day. For other offices, you should clean two or three days a week.”

There are, of course, specialist products — but what about tipping the keyboard upside down, always quite interesting when you see what falls out? Chris says this doesn’t work: “The only effective way of cleaning a keyboard is by air duster, which is compressed air in a can with a nozzle, which forces out the dust and grime. People are amazed at the results.

“Monthly cleaning won’t prevent this build-up and in the offices I go into, the majority of workstations have quite simply never been cleaned.”

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