Telephone hygiene

SteveDallas · 04-15-2008, 12:52 PM

I got a request today that put me in mind of the Golgafrinchan telephone sanitizers in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

Someone is moving to a different office. She asked about her phone and computer. I said, just plug your computer in in the new place. No need to move the phone--they're all the same. We'll reprogram your extension for you. So.. she asked how to clean off the phone. "Sorry?" "Clean it.. you know, because somebody else has been using it & putting it up to their ear." It's an issue I haven't heard raised before. What do you think?

EDIT: dammit. Can I edit the poll?

lookout123 · 04-15-2008, 12:55 PM

Years ago I moved into my new office and had an issue with the phone. The previous occupant had chronic halitosis and the phone just stunk to high heaven. It was hard asking for a new phone considering that my boss was the previous occupant.

LabRat · 04-15-2008, 01:01 PM

I have only ever wiped a work phone down when I knew someone was sick used it.

I even sit on the seats in the john without putting paper down first!!!

I'm so reckless...

lookout123 · 04-15-2008, 01:03 PM

Yeah, well - have you ever licked the receiver on a public pay phone in Mexico during a Tequila fueled double dog dare?

chicken.

Flint · 04-15-2008, 01:07 PM

I clean my phone, my keyboards and mice (top and bottom, after spraying out particulate matter with canned air), all surfaces and buttons on PCs and monitors, the surface of my desk, the drawer pulleys, and the light switch, with PDI Super-Sani cloths.

Quote:

High alcohol (55%) formula kills a broader range of viruses and bacteria including: TB and RSV in 1 minute; HBV and HIV-1 in 2 minutes; MRSA and VRE in 5 minutes. Kills Candida Albicans and Rhinovirus.

glatt · 04-15-2008, 01:09 PM

We have these first aid kits in the pantries here. After I've been sick, I go get one of those alcohol wipes for cuts, and I wipe my phone. I also use them on my keyboard and mouse.

Just don't think about the copy machine buttons. They are never washed, and every jackass touches them.

LabRat · 04-15-2008, 01:09 PM

My mouse only gets cleaned after I eat cheetos.

Flint · 04-15-2008, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

Just don't think about the copy machine buttons.

They're going on my list. But seriously I sanitize my hands every 15 minutes anyway.

lookout123 · 04-15-2008, 01:16 PM

Sanitize every time you have a dirty thought is what i always say.

Flint · 04-15-2008, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lookout123

Sanitize every time you have a dirty thought is what i always say.

I always wash my pecker real good in the shower...but...according to what you've prescribed I would be stuck in the shower all day!

Cloud · 04-15-2008, 01:24 PM

somewhere in between.

TheMercenary · 04-15-2008, 01:44 PM

I hot bunk a call room with 3 other people. I always sanatize the place, esp if someone has been sick. Contact with all the stuff in the room is just to intimate and I cannot afford to miss work. We do 24 and 48 hour shifts so you really are stuck there most of the time. Door handles, toilets seats handles, bathroom sinks, key board, microwave, and esp the phones.

Cicero · 04-15-2008, 02:16 PM

Yeppers....I always clean when I move into the new place. Especially the keyboard, phone, and mouse. They are usually pretty filthy. I usually switch out the mouse for my own mouse. Of course, I don't have to ask how to clean something...I just do it.

People usually stare at me when they see me do it. (swab everything down with alcohol)And I stare back. I think it's common sense to clean things you use, and other people use with their hands and mouths, for 7-10 hours a day.....I'm not even a germ freak.

lumberjim · 04-15-2008, 03:25 PM

I try to keep my ears clean, and i take the phone away from my face to sneeze.

I'm not a big sterilizer

monster · 04-15-2008, 10:42 PM

I sterilize nothing. Actually I don't clean anything in an unsterile fashion either. But then I don't share much either, so it's mostly me wallowing in my own filth and germs

But I do put paper on the toilet seat in a public bog if it's absolutely necessary to sit, I use paper or a foot to flush and wash my hands thoroughly.

And I will not eat food my children have already bitten into. Or share drinks with them. Icky.

Oh and I put a towel between my head and the bench at the gym (mostly because I may leave a purple stain there if i don't, but admittedly cooti-avoidance is also a factor), but I only "clean" the equipment after I use it because it's the rules.

View Poll Results: What's your positoin on telephone cooties?
Worrying about germs on your telephone receiver is irrationally compulsive.	14	60.87%
You don't strilize yours? Wow! You're lucky you're not dead yet.	9	39.13%
Voters: 23. You may not vote on this poll

04-15-2008, 12:52 PM	#1
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	Telephone hygiene I got a request today that put me in mind of the Golgafrinchan telephone sanitizers in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Someone is moving to a different office. She asked about her phone and computer. I said, just plug your computer in in the new place. No need to move the phone--they're all the same. We'll reprogram your extension for you. So.. she asked how to clean off the phone. "Sorry?" "Clean it.. you know, because somebody else has been using it & putting it up to their ear." It's an issue I haven't heard raised before. What do you think? EDIT: dammit. Can I edit the poll?

04-15-2008, 12:55 PM	#2
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	Years ago I moved into my new office and had an issue with the phone. The previous occupant had chronic halitosis and the phone just stunk to high heaven. It was hard asking for a new phone considering that my boss was the previous occupant. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

04-15-2008, 01:01 PM	#3
LabRat twatfaced two legged bumhole Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,143	I have only ever wiped a work phone down when I knew someone was sick used it. I even sit on the seats in the john without putting paper down first!!! I'm so reckless... __________________ Strength does not come from how much weight you can lift, or how many miles you can run. It comes from knowing that you set a goal, and rose to the challenge. Strength comes from within.

04-15-2008, 01:03 PM	#4
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	Yeah, well - have you ever licked the receiver on a public pay phone in Mexico during a Tequila fueled double dog dare? chicken. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

04-15-2008, 01:09 PM	#6
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	We have these first aid kits in the pantries here. After I've been sick, I go get one of those alcohol wipes for cuts, and I wipe my phone. I also use them on my keyboard and mouse. Just don't think about the copy machine buttons. They are never washed, and every jackass touches them.

04-15-2008, 01:16 PM	#9
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	Sanitize every time you have a dirty thought is what i always say. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

04-15-2008, 01:24 PM	#11
Cloud ... Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 8,360	somewhere in between. __________________ "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards!"

04-15-2008, 01:44 PM	#12
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	I hot bunk a call room with 3 other people. I always sanatize the place, esp if someone has been sick. Contact with all the stuff in the room is just to intimate and I cannot afford to miss work. We do 24 and 48 hour shifts so you really are stuck there most of the time. Door handles, toilets seats handles, bathroom sinks, key board, microwave, and esp the phones. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

04-15-2008, 02:16 PM	#13
Cicero Looking forward to open mic night. Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: New Mexico Posts: 5,148	Yeppers....I always clean when I move into the new place. Especially the keyboard, phone, and mouse. They are usually pretty filthy. I usually switch out the mouse for my own mouse. Of course, I don't have to ask how to clean something...I just do it. People usually stare at me when they see me do it. (swab everything down with alcohol)And I stare back. I think it's common sense to clean things you use, and other people use with their hands and mouths, for 7-10 hours a day.....I'm not even a germ freak. __________________ Show me a sane man, and I will cure him for you.- Carl Jung

04-15-2008, 03:25 PM	#14
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	I try to keep my ears clean, and i take the phone away from my face to sneeze. I'm not a big sterilizer __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

04-15-2008, 10:42 PM	#15
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	I sterilize nothing. Actually I don't clean anything in an unsterile fashion either. But then I don't share much either, so it's mostly me wallowing in my own filth and germs But I do put paper on the toilet seat in a public bog if it's absolutely necessary to sit, I use paper or a foot to flush and wash my hands thoroughly. And I will not eat food my children have already bitten into. Or share drinks with them. Icky. Oh and I put a towel between my head and the bench at the gym (mostly because I may leave a purple stain there if i don't, but admittedly cooti-avoidance is also a factor), but I only "clean" the equipment after I use it because it's the rules. __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

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