The folks at Microban have just released the results of some research done by the University of Arizona which suggests that the level of bacteria on elevator buttons is three times higher than the amount found on public toilets.
Yes, Microban are trying to sell anti-bacterial stuff, but still. Yeeeww?!?
Research carried out in hotels, restaurants, banks, offices and airports, showed that the level of bacteria on lift buttons averaged 2,200 colony forming units per square centimetre, compared to 8 on the average public toilet seat. Among the common bacteria likely to be found are E-coli, Staph-aureus and MRSA…research was conducted by the University of Arizona by collecting samples from hotels, restaurants, banks, offices and airports. The buttons were swabbed with Spongesicle containing 10ml of neutralizing buffer. The estimated surface swabbed on each button was 7.06 square centimeters. Agar plates were incubated for five days at 30 degrees centigrade and bacteria colonies were then counted.
