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Good reminder on how to clean keyboards and mice

4 May 2009 - 4:54pm | Sarah Washburn

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With all of the new-fangled technology out there to talk about, to experiment, and to discuss on listservs, I'm always happy to see focused discussions on topics that get down to basics. This one caught my eye, because it was so well-articulated and researched.

Clean public computers and peripherals are always important, especially during a time when global pandemics are dominating the airwaves. Here's a great post from the sys-lib list that John Coogan, Systems Librarian from the Univ of MD so kindy researched and shared.

Wipe them down

Some libraries do wipe things down - e.g. one does it weekly with Purell wipes, another does it twice daily using Clorox wipes. Downside - takes staff time.

Provide Hand Sanitizer

Some seem to think that it's better just to provide patrons with hand sanitizer.

Provide wipes

Wipes could be provided for patrons who want to use them to wipe things down - sort of like supermarkets are now providing them for people who want to wipe down their shopping carts.

Products

People mentioned Clorox, Purell and Lysol products. One person cautioned that many wipes leave a residue which can attract dust and dirt. To avoid the residue, one could use high alcohol wipes (such as alcohol prep pads); the downside to these is that they do have a strong smell which could possibly trigger asthma in some people.

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Great, practical stuff! Thanks, John!

Technorati Tags: clean disinfect keyboard mouse

anti-bacterial keyboards

Submitted by John (not verified) on 13 May 2009 - 8:18pm.

For manual purification, I thnk the CDC-recommended diluted bleach solution would be much cheaper and leave no residue. cf www.umich.edu/flu-clean.php Staff may want to use rubber gloves to avoid excessive drying of the hands. While perhaps not anti-viral, my Samsung Netbook has a "silver nano anti-bacterial" keyboard. I have seen other vendors, including Crocs and washing machine makers, incorporating silver nano products, which supposedly has been reported to be effective in tackling Staphylococcus aureus, E-coli, enterococcus faecalis and candida albicans. I wonder if the feature will catch on, and whether greasy fingers eliminate the protection. What's for lunch?!?

Lunch time talk, indeed!

Submitted by Sarah Washburn on 31 December 1969 - 5:00pm.

Thanks for your comment, John. My workmates enjoyed my loud guffaw after reading your comment about lunch. :) Who knew there would be so much innovation around anti-bacterial surfaces? I hadn't heard about such technology on keyboards, but it sure is a smart idea. Librarians are always cleaning these hard-to-clean areas, and using a keyboard that gets at the nasty stuff first is intriguing. Now if only the food bits could be magically taken care of, too!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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