Could your tech be dirtier than a toilet seat?

Yes I think we did develop a greater resilience to infections, but I think we were brought up more hygienically too, with underwear, handkerchieves and bedding routinely boiled, mealtimes and behaviour more regulated and virtually no snacking, and “did you wash your hands?” recited many times a day. People, especially women and children, wore gloves a lot more outdoors, children’s bathtime was a serious affair with copious applications of Lifebuoy Soap and some pretty uncomfortable personal attention to the crevices, and being told to always wash our hands before opening a book [and afterwards as well if it was from the public library!] – habits that never die. Against that, there were hardly any glasss screens between customers and staff in banks, post offices and ticket offices, dry cleaning of outer clothing was a rare event, a lot of food was on open display in shops and cafés, and sanitation arrangements were frequently inadequate, and a lot of children and older people were permanently ailing; those who did not succumb must have built up a powerful immune system.

One lesson from this exposure is : Never use the computers in bank and building society branches, travel agents, public libraries, etc; we can probably withstand a degree of assault from our own germs on our own instruments but can we trust other organisations to cleanse their hardware effectively enough to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria?

I should have liked a bit more information on the most effective products and treatment techniques; I doubt whether spraying things is always a good idea – atomisers can presumably spread micro-organisms. I am hoping Wavechange and other experts will join this Conversation with some good scientific advice.

Maybe, Malcolm, but perhaps there is no harm in encouraging people to be a bit more hygienic. Look around and you will see people who don’t wash their hands before handling food or using the toilet.

A separate issue, wavechange. I am totally in favour of hygiene and personal cleanliness; it bothers me to see people leave a toilet without washing, for example. I don’t imagine we are any worse now than our predecessors – it’s largely in our upbringing.
What I am uncomfortable with is overdramatising some topics – becoming a bit prevalent.

I would be much more comfortable if topics were not over-dramatised, but I assume that the aim is to broaden the appeal of Which? Conversation, so that more will join in and become interested in consumer issues. If it is any consolation, I doubt that this topic will feature in the magazine.

I reckon that overstatement and oversimplification can help people develop skills in critical evaluation.

Unfortunately, people with little knowledge sometimes post potentially dangerous messages. In this context, remember the people who commented on eating food well beyond its ‘use by’ date, or eating food that has been on the floor.

Hi Malcolm, thanks for your comments. This research just shows the facts of our swab tests, with advice on staying hygienic – especially when many people use these gadgets on the loo!

On Which? Conversation we’re also publishing the view of one individual, with the goal often to argue one side and play devil’s advocate in order to launch a debate.

For our fully objective reports and research which features both sides of the argument, visit Which.co.uk or read the mag. If we gave all sides of the argument in our Conversation introduction, there wouldn’t be much for you to talk about in the comments!

Perhaps this research just indicates that we are good at keeping our toilet seats clean. 🙂