Is your mobile phone dirtier than a toilet flush?

Volunteering my mobile phone for some research into the cleanliness of mobile phones seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I’ve seen the results I’m not so sure.

Thirty handsets were handed over and swabbed by a hygienist. After giving the mobiles a quick clean, the swabs were whisked away. I thought no more about it.

Then the results came back.

The hygienist had analysed the results as I expected, but he’d also compared them to other objects and surfaces – not so expected.

How dirty is your phone?

Of the 30 phones tested, seven were dirty and had warning or high levels of environmental bacteria (TVC). Another was so bad it was home to high levels of bacteria associated with faecal matter and Salmonella. Nice.

But it gets worse. The average mobile phone can harbour 18 times more living bacteria than a flush handle on a gents’ toilet.

Would you put a toilet handle to your face several times a day? The scary part is that many of us are pretty much doing just that.

Time to banish the bacteria

If these findings are representative of all UK mobiles, millions of our phones are exceeding the recommended acceptable levels of bacteria.

Volunteers haven’t been told the results of specific phones. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. But I’m definitely sure of one thing – I’ll be cleaning my phone from now on.