--- title: The 6 Dirtiest Places in the Office description: This might give you pause before heating up leftovers for lunch at work: among the dirtiest spots in a typical office are the microwave door... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7138465/the-6-dirtiest-places-in-the-office/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-05-24T17:12:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T10:26:42.871Z article:section: Health og:title: The 6 Dirtiest Places in the Office og:description: This might give you pause before heating up leftovers for lunch at work: among the dirtiest spots in a typical office are the microwave door... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7138465/the-6-dirtiest-places-in-the-office/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a915cd7b316ffe/698a93859862f56d8189bcac/102285715.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 102285715 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 6 Dirtiest Places in the Office twitter:description: This might give you pause before heating up leftovers for lunch at work: among the dirtiest spots in a typical office are the microwave door... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a915cd7b316ffe/698a93859862f56d8189bcac/102285715.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # The 6 Dirtiest Places in the Office by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) May 24, 2012 5:12 PM UTC  Businesswoman blowing nose in office Businesswoman blowing nose in officeGetty Images/Image Source—(c) Image Source by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) May 24, 2012 5:12 PM UTC This might give you pause before heating up leftovers for lunch at work: among the dirtiest spots in a typical office are the microwave door and refrigerator door handles in the break room. You probably already touched both today. In a new study by Kimberly-Clark Professional, researchers swabbed nearly 5,000 surfaces in office buildings housing about 3,000 employees. The offices included law firms, insurance companies, [health care](http://topics.time.com/health-care/) companies, call centers and manufacturing facilities. The swabs were analyzed with an ATP meter, a device commonly used to assess sanitary conditions in industry. It measures levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule found in all animal, vegetable, bacteria, yeast and mold cells. High ATP levels are present in food or other organic residues left on surfaces. The more ATP found on a surface, the more likely it’s flourishing with bacteria and viruses. (**MORE:** [Skinny Jeans and High Heels: What Health Dangers Lurk in Your Closet?](http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/23/skinny-jeans-and-high-heels-what-health-dangers-lurk-in-your-closet/)) An ATP reading of over 100 suggests a surface could use a scrub-down. Readings of 300 or higher are considered officially dirty and at high risk for spreading illness. Note the meter doesn’t directly measure germs, but the dirty surfaces they cling to. The dirtiest office surfaces found to have ATP counts of 300 or higher were as follows: --- > “” --- Surfaces with readings over 100 that could use disinfecting included: --- > “” --- (**MORE:** [Study: 1 in 6 Cell Phones Contaminated with Fecal Matter](http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/17/study-1-in-6-cell-phones-contaminated-with-fecal-matter/)) “A lot of people are aware of the risk of germs in the restroom, but areas like break rooms have not received the same degree of attention,” study consultant Dr. Charles Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of [Arizona](http://topics.time.com/arizona/), said in a statement. “This study demonstrates that contamination can be spread throughout the workplace when office workers heat up lunch, make coffee or simply type on their keyboards.” It’s impossible to avoid germs entirely, but according to Brad Reynolds of Kimberly-Clark Professional’s Healthy Workplace Project, diligent washing, wiping and sanitizing can help office workers reduce their rates of cold, flu and stomach illness by up to 80%. Here are some of Gerba’s tips for protecting yourself from catching your co-workers’ coughs, sniffles or other germs: --- > “” --- **MORE:** [Hands-Free Faucets May Spread More Germs Than Manual Tap](http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/31/hands-free-faucets-spread-more-germs-than-manual-taps/) The 6 Dirtiest Places in the Office ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7138465/the-6-dirtiest-places-in-the-office/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7138465/the-6-dirtiest-places-in-the-office/"},"headline":"The 6 Dirtiest Places in the Office","datePublished":"2012-05-24T17:12:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T10:26:42.871Z","description":"This might give you pause before heating up leftovers for lunch at work: among the dirtiest spots in a typical office are the microwave door...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7138465/the-6-dirtiest-places-in-the-office/","keywords":["Bacteria","Germs","office"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a915cd7b316ffe/698a93859862f56d8189bcac/102285715.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85a915cd7b316ffe/698a93859862f56d8189bcac/102285715.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"102285715","caption":"102285715","creditText":"Getty Images/Image Source—(c) Image Source","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7138465/the-6-dirtiest-places-in-the-office/","name":"The 6 Dirtiest Places in the Office"}}]}] ```