A recent study by U.K. office furniture supplier, Furniture At Work, has revealed the top dirtiest and most harmful areas within offices—and you might be surprised to learn that toilet seats are not on the list.

In fact, five of the top germiest areas can’t even be found in a restroom. Instead, surfaces within office kitchens appear to be of bigger concern.

Door handles, with 30 times more bacteria than a toilet seat, more topped the list for 2023. Office sinks followed in second place, with 23 times more bacteria; microwave doors were third, with 19 times more bacteria; mobile phones were fourth, with 16 times more bacteria; and water kettles were fifth, with 13 times more bacteria.

Not until you get to the sixth spot is there something located in restrooms—restroom faucets carry 11 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.

In the last four places were office chairs (10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat), kitchen refrigerators and desk phones (tied, with nine times more bacteria), and computer keyboards (eight times more bacteria).

To draw its conclusions, the company used a Hygiena ATP Monitoring System, commonly used in hospital and health care facilities, to collect at relative light unit (RLU) reading. The RLU reading directly correlates to the amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on a surface. ATP can be found in all organic matter. So, when an RLU reading is high, that means the amount of ATP on a surface is also high, which indicates the presence of bacteria.

The yearly cost of workplace absence due to illness in the United Kingdom is over UK£29 billion—equivalent to more than US$35 billion. In 2021, U.K. employees took 150 million sick days. Furniture At Work has suggested the following ways to keep all office areas cleaner and safer:

1. Use indoor plants to kill airborne viruses.

According to Furniture At Work, studies have shown that plants growing in soil are highly effective at removing indoor air pollutants.

2. Clean regularly.

As obvious as it might seem, cleaning needs to occur regularly and often.

3. Use antibacterial products.

Killing germs requires more than a simple wipe down with a wet cloth. Use antibacterial products that are designed specifically to remove bacteria and other germs. Check out Increase Your Knowledge, Improve Your Cleaning to learn more on using cleaning products correctly.

4. Don’t forget the less obvious areas.

Make sure cleaning teams hit the listed top 10 office hotspots, which might easily get ignored or forgotten.

5. Wash and sanitize your hands.

To keep from passing bacteria between office surfaces and co-workers, wash hands and use sanitizer regularly. Keep sanitizer in convenient spots throughout the office.

Miami has surpassed Los Angeles this year for first place in pest control company Orkin’s Top 50 Termite Cities List.

Recently released following Termite Awareness Week (March 5–11), Orkin determined its list based upon the amount of residential and commercial termite treatments it performed in various metro areas within the United States between February 1, 2022–January 31, 2023.

According to Orkin, termites are referred to as “silent destroyers” because of their ability to secretly hide and thrive in a building. Termites eat cellulose-based materials commonly found in building materials such as timber, flooring, and dry wall. These pests cost Americans more than US$5 billion in damage annually, which is not typically covered in insurance policies.

In the 2023 list, Los Angeles fell to second place, with Tampa, Florida, and Washington, D.C., ranking third and fourth, respectively. Raleigh, North Carolina, rounded out the top 5.

“Termites feed primarily on wood and can compromise the strength and safety of an infested structure,” said Glen Ramsey, Orkin’s director of technical services. The company offered the following proactive tips to help prevent a termite infestation:

• Check water drainage sites to ensure they remain cleared and effective
• Monitor the collection of moisture by fixing pipes, gutters, downspouts, air conditioning units, and other fixtures susceptible to leaking
• Caulk around utility lines or pipes
• Get rid of rotting wood and debris near the building
• Place screens on outside vents
• Check wooden structures for damage.

Find out which cities are on the list and where they ranked.