Beware: Office teabags contain 17 times more germs than a toilet seat

Love your afternoon cuppa in the office? Think again. A new study finds that office teabags can carry as many as 17 times more germs than a toilet seat.

According to scientists, the average bacterial reading of an office teabag was 3,785, in comparison to only 220 for a toilet seat.

The study was carried out by the Initial Washroom Hygiene and it came across these staggering results by analysing the bacterial readings of kitchen utensils and appliances.

Other pieces of kitchen equipment also stacked up highly in their findings, with the bacterial readings averaging at 2,483 on kettle handles, 1,746 on the rim of a used mug and 1,592 on a fridge door handle.

The study took a poll of 1,000 workers and found that 80 per cent of people working in an office wouldn’t think to wash their hands before making drinks for colleagues.

Dr Peter Barratt of Initial Washroom Hygiene believes that offices should be more aware of the levels of hygiene in their communal kitchens.

According to a story published in The Independent, Barratt says, “If you stop to think about the number of different hands that touch things such as the kettle handle, tea bag box lid, mugs, and so on, the potential for cross contamination really adds up.”

He further adds that using anti-bacterial wipes on kitchen surfaces and regularly cleaning the mug can pay huge dividends in terms of maintaining a healthy workforce.