We don’t know how many Canadians do it, but an infection control specialist at St. Joseph’s Healthcare facility in Hamilton, Ontario says they should not take their mobile devices into the bathroom.
On the occasion of World Hand Hygiene Day on Monday, Anne Bialachowski decided to test devices to see how much organic material they had on their surfaces. An ATP test measures organic material left behind on surfaces, anything from fecal matter and E. coli, to viruses that cause colds and the flu.
A clean reading on the ATP test is a score of 30, but some of the devices swabbed at St. Joseph’s had readings of over 100. One person’s cellphone even had a reading of 400.
Pathogens can live for days
Pathogens like C. difficile can even live on a device for days, Bialachowski says.
Many people have a habit of taking books or magazines into the bathroom. But she says if people really want to use their phone instead, they should get into the habit of wiping them down with a cloth after washing their hands.. A test with a simple dry cloth also performed at the hospital showed that removed most problem germs.
But stay away from chemicals and sprays — they’re generally harmful for electronics.
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