These are the 10 dirtiest items in your office

Most people would hope their work environment is pretty clean.

If you had to pick what you thought would be the cleanest workspace, you would probably go with a nice, clean, modern office, right?

Barring the toilet seat in the bathroom, you would assume that an office was largely free of germs or any other nastiness.

If you were to use the ATP test, which judges the cleanliness levels of a surface, you'll discover that most things in an office are pretty gross.

Mashableused the ATP test on a number of everyday office surfaces and these are the ten which scored the highest on the scale (anything over 300 is considered to be a serious source of potential illness).

Coffee Pots:

Via: Giphy

Think of all the hands that grace the handle of a coffee pot every day.

It's a lot. There is a strong chance that not all of those hands are 100 per cent clean.

According to Mashable, 48 per cent of coffee pots contain harmful bacteria on their surface so make sure you wash your hands after using one.

Computer mouse

Picture: Getty Images/Vetta

This might not be a surprise as a computer mouse has to be one of the most used tools in an office every day.

38 per cent of mice are in need of a major wipe down as they are probably as dirty as their animal namesake.

Toilet seat

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You would probably suspect that this item would be higher on the list but the ATP meter only ranked the average toilet seat at a 200.

This doesn't mean that you should start eating your dinner off it or anything. But it's curious.

If you are a bit disturbed by these sort of facts, you can always clean a seat before using it, which is probably doing everyone a favour.

Vending machines

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If you are lucky enough to have a vending machine in your office you've probably noticed how busy it is.

All those fingers, that have just handled spare change, pressing all those buttons doesn't make for a hygienic surface.

Mashable report that 21 per cent of all vending machine buttons have a high chance of spreading an illness.

Doesn't really seem worth it for a pack of Quavers, does it?

Water fountains

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Lots of buttons on this list.

Water fountains are pretty much used by everyone in an office.

It's free and refreshing but 23 per cent of water fountain buttons contain enough bacteria to make you ill.

Whilst the water keeps you hydrated, the machine housing is probably doing you more harm than good, which seems kinda ironic.

Refrigerators

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Whether you a storing your lunch away or grabbing the milk to make a cup of tea, the fridge door handle gets a hell of a workout.

All those grubby hands equate to an ATP level of over 300 which is teetering on dangerous levels of bacteria and illness.

We really don't wanna contemplate what it's like inside the fridge, where that M&S salad has been lurking for months.

Keyboards

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Ahhh....the precious, sometimes way too loud, keyboard.

Mashable state that 27 per cent of keyboards they tested came back with levels above 300.

This probably isn't surprising but the next time you drop a crumb from your croissant on the space bar, do yourself a favour and don't eat it.

Microwaves

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Microwaves aren't great for you at the best of time.

Reheating three day old foor? That sounds like a perfect way to get food poisoning. Make sure it's piping hot the whole way through.

Regardless of that, 48 per cent of all Microwave door handles were found to be swimming in germs so wash your hands and disinfect that handle asap.

Taps

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Sink taps are a haven for bacteria.

Just think about it. You can't turn on a tap in a bathroom with clean hands. It's why you're at the tap.

Same goes for in the kitchen, as most people will have just handled food of some kind or dirty dishes.

75 per cent of taps in offices were found to have enough disease to make you really ill so give them a wipe before using one in the future.

Phones

Via: Giphy

You might argue that smartphones can be used everywhere and not just the office but ask yourself, when did you last give your phone a real wipe down?

Literally think about how many times a day do you get that little device out? You look at it on the train, in bed and even on the toilet.

Mashable report that the average smartphone comes in at over 900 on the ATP metre which is disgusting.

To avoid any illnesses from you phone just give it a wipe every once in a while.

You can thank us later.

HT Mashable

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