Here’s an interesting test you might want to try with your laptop keyboard should you find yourself with an inordinate amount of free time: Wrap it in clean white tee-shirt, turn it upside down, and pat on the bottom of the computer – lightly – a few times. Then look at all the dust, dead skin cells, makeup powder and whatever else was lodged amongst the keys. Or, if you really enjoy living dangerously, hold a bare bulb over your keyboard and blow on it nice and hard (actually, you may want to wear an insulation mask for this one).

Now That’s Just Nasty

ABC News famously reported that your keyboard might well be dirtier than your toilet bowl. E. coli and staph are only a couple of the more alarming microbial substances that could be lurking in QWERTY land. Norovirus is another, according to a recent U.K. study. You may be diligent in keeping your own keyboard clean. Or your immune system may have armed itself against those antigens to which it is exposed on a regular basis. That doesn’t mean you’re safe.

USB Miniature Vacuum: Keeping It Clean

As with all areas of common public use, keyboards in the work environment, the library, or at the electronics store are probably not quite germ-free. Unless you carry a pack of rubber gloves around in your coat pocket, you may be exposed to a greater health risk than you previously understood. This is not something that is unknown to the computer industry, however, as new USB-powered cleaning devices are being introduced to the market.

A USB-powered vacuum cleaner, for instance, sells for less than $15. Requiring no batteries, the USB miniature vacuum can be hooked up to any desktop or laptop computer. It comes with two attachments, one a bristle brush and the other a flexible rubber cleaning tool that can even suction the particles and dust from beneath the keys. It’s no substitute for soap and water, but utilizing the USB port already on the computer can certainly (and conveniently) reduce your exposure to the kinds of bacteria that might be, literally, at your fingertips.