Computer Fungus Risk To Patients

Infection control should include regular computer cleaning

Critically ill patients in hospital intensive care units could be at risk from computers spewing infectious fungal spores.

American researchers found a rare hospital fungus "Aspergillus fumigatus" in their intensive care wards following the installation of computers.

Dr Gregory Forstall, of the McLaren Regional Medical Centre, in Michigan, said his research highlighted the need for careful cleaning of computers.

He told the American Society for Microbiology that when researchers analysed cultures from dust on the central processing units and other parts of the equipment, they spotted another five types of fungus which can cause illness.

There is a risk of contamination of computer units and measures probably need to be taken to maintain their cleanliness

Dr Gregory Forstall

Contamination

Dr Forstall said the fungal contaminations were first discovered when the computers were introduced into his hospital's 23-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

"Computers were recently installed into patient rooms to streamline procedures for physicians and nursing staff.

Scientists found the fungus in the intensive care units

"We saw that the computers had a vent with a cooling fan, and there was almost an exhaust coming from the fan, so when we took samples from the grid and from the room, we found that there was a growth of several types of yeast and some filamentous mould.

"There is a risk of contamination of computer units and measures probably need to be taken to maintain their cleanliness, especially around the grid that protects the cooling fan," he said.

Breed cultures

Dr Alexander Binning, a consultant anaesthetist in ICU at the Western Infirmary, in Glasgow, said UK hospitals would also need to ensure their computers were clean.

He said he had been unaware of the potential of computers to store and breed cultures but added that inspections would now be carried out.

"It could potentially be a problem.

"I think it is one of the many potential problems in hospitals and is another aspect that we will be looking at.

"We have infection control teams that swab regularly here in the unit."

Dr Binning said that due to financial constraints in the NHS there were fewer hospital computers on intensive care wards compared to the US, where each intensive care ward bed can have a PC and monitor.

Reprint: Originally printed by BBC News @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1351450.stm

Computer Filth Exposed

By BBC News Online internet reporter Mark Ward

The shocking secrets of the life of grime beneath your fingers have been revealed.

Computer keyboards are accumulating up to two grams of dirt every month, research conducted on behalf of AOL UK shows.

The crumbs and dirt collect beneath the keys because users eat breakfast, snacks, and lunch over their computer terminals.

The personal grooming that people undertake while at their desk also contributes to the build-up of grunge.

Fingernail pairings

AOL collected the dust, dirt and organic debris accumulating beneath the keys of a keyboard in a typical London office for a month.

Keyboard crumb breakdown

Corn Flakes (15%) Boiled sweet (15%) Noodles (7%) Vegetable piece (4%) Leaf (1%) Pencil shavings (1%) Staple (1%) Finger nail (<1%) Tape/plastic (<1%) Insect (<1%) Foil (<1%) Hair (<1%) Various particles resembling cereal grains, biscuit crumbs, bread crumbs, pastry flakes and chocolate crumbs (56%)

The accumulated rubbish, which weighed in at a hefty 1.89 grams, was then sent for study at Reading Scientific Services, an independent food and drink analysis centre.

The majority of the debris, 56%, was made up of food crumbs from the chocolate bars and biscuits that people like to snack on when using their computer.

Much of the rest was also food-related, but also in the dirt were dead insects as well as fingernail parings, small patches of dead skin and the odd hair.

Vigorous shaking

If the keyboard studied is typical, AOL UK estimates that almost 0.318 tonnes of what it calls "keyboard krumbs" will accumulate beneath all keyboards over the space of a year.

A spokeswoman for Reading Scientific Services said the company operated a strict confidentiality policy and could not comment on the research, or whether the accumulating grime constituted a health hazard.

To keep keyboards clean, office cleaning firms recommend that people regularly remove the keys, and vacuum, blow or shake off the dirt beneath.

Why Have Your Computers Professionally Cleaned?

Problems Caused By a Dirty PC

1. Dirt and dust accumulates on heat sinks acting as an insulator and causing chips to run hotter, reducing their life expectancy.

2. Dirt and dust accumulates on fans, including the power supply and CPU fans, causing them to lose efficiency and allowing heat to build up inside the case.

3. Dirt and dust accumulates on the case's ventilation holes blocking cool air from entering the case and blocking hot air from exiting the case.

4. Sticky mice, grimy keyboards, and dirty monitor screens reduce employee productivity.

Benefits of a Clean PC

1. Clean equipment runs cooler, extending its life expectancy.

2. A cooler running PC crashes less frequently resulting in less data loss.

3. A PC with a clean mouse, keyboard, and screen make the user feel better and become more productive.

Why would a business want to hire you clean their PCs rather than do it themselves?

1. Employees, especially IT department employees, don't like to clean PC's or anything else. It's below their dignity.

2. The company's PCs may be shared, that is, no individual has a specific PC that they alone always use. Employees don't like to clean up after somebody else.

3. The company's employees may not be technically qualified to clean a PC.

Who Is Cleaning Your Computers?

In most offices the equipment has been left for years. Most people have just become accustomed to working with dirty equipment. If people accepted this same level cleanliness in buildings, Carpets would look muddy in most locations. Windows would be smeared with gunk.

If you think you have a maintenance contract on your equipment and they look after cleaning of your equipment, wrong again.

Maintenance contracts are to insure that the equipment continues to function. NOT that it is clean for you to operate. The company you lease your car from doesn't wash it for you.

Computer Techs, Photocopier Techs and IT Professionals are not cleaning your equipment, they just don't have time nor the inclination to clean the outside of your equipment.

Janitorial Services do NOT clean equipment, nor should they.

They would rather clean a bomb than a computer or data terminal. It's just too risky for them because they are not trained to perform this service.

Germs Abound On Computer Keyboards!

A recent study from the University of Arizona states...

"the average desk has 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat!"

The man who conducted this study, Dr. Charles Gerba, states "for bacteria, the desk is really the laptop of luxury". The number one culprit is your telephone, then your desk and then your keyboard.

Toilet seats came out the lowest on a total of 12 surfaces tested in office environments.

Eating at your desk is an area that has approximately 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table, or 4 times more than the average toilet seat.

With the amount of time people spend at their desks increasing, the bacteria count seems to be going up. Cleaning these areas regularly can reduce the bacteria count by 99.9 percent.

The study found that bacteria could increase 19 to 31 percent over a day.

From this data, we can assume that keeping your work area cleaned regularly can reduce the chances of illness in the office environment.

This study used over 7000 samples, collected across the United States from office environments. These were typical offices with cubicles, open spaces and private offices with limited street traffic such as deliveries.

Take a good look around you, and decide for yourself if your keyboard, monitor, telephone, and mouse could use a professional cleaning and disinfecting.

Give us a call for a free estimate or contact us about our training program if you'd like to provide this service yourself!

Why Should You Have Your Equipment Professionally Cleaned?

Clean computer equipment improves the professional image of your business, saves money on repairs & replacements, & reduces the spread of germs & viruses around the office, saving you money and taking your business to the next level.

Do you live in West Central Florida? Call us at 800-866-6377, or email to sales@pccleaningpros.com and PC Cleaning Professionals will clean your dirtiest keyboard for free. Give us a try today. You'll be glad you did!

Customers Can See The Dirt, Too!

If YOU can see that it's dirty, don't you think your customers can too?

* Keyboards
* Mice
* Monitors
* Telephones
* Scanners
* Printers
* Faxes
* Copiers
* Adding Machines
* CPU Cases
* Typewriters
* Insides

Technicians not only quickly restore your equipment to showroom condition; they also sanitize the human touch areas, which will free these surfaces from bacteria and germs.

The equipment is detail clean - not just that cursory wipe - to transform your dingy equipment to look like new!

Computer cleaning professionals pride themselves on being almost invisible so that your staff can carry on their work as required. They are available to complete the cleaning during regular business hours, or during evenings and weekends - your choice.

Have You Had Your Computer Cleaned?

When was the last time YOU had your keyboard and telephone professionally cleaned and sanitized? The amount of money you save could very well pay for our service and then some…

According to several Human Resources web sites, the average cost for sick days taken is $1000/year/employee? (This includes wages, fringe benefits and operating costs)

Computer Cleaning Professionals

A new breed of professionals are breaking into the Green Business Movement in the world today. Computer Cleaning Technicians clean and sanitize computers and electronic equipment, improving the professional image of business, prolonging the life of valuable assets, and slowing the spread of viruses and germs around the office.

In Sarasota, Florida and the surrounding area PC Cleaning Professionals is the premier professional computer and electronic equipment cleaning service. They can be reached at 800-866-6377, or email at sales@pccleaningpros.com.