As you know The Diva is all about Virtual Everything. Rapid Fax is one of my favorite virtual tools. Earlier in the blog, I touted Rapid Fax as a fabulous tool, now it is a wondrous necessity. As you read the excerpt below think of me on a white sand beach. I hardly feel anyone's writing should be stolen, so this excerpt is from the Canadian Press.

The average office has hundreds of times more bacteria than a toilet seat. The "enter" button on your office fax machine is probably a rank stew of vile bacteria.

WORK LIKE A LAWYER

Gerba's study of offices in New York, San Francisco and Tucson, Ariz., found that teachers' offices had by far the highest levels of germs per square inch, nearly three times as much as bankers, the next most contaminated professionals. Lawyers had the least infection.

While lawyers have the advantage of having little contact with children, they are also good at sticking to a regimen, Gerba said.

One example is Colleen Kerwick, an aviation litigation attorney with the firm in Manhattan. She wraps up food remains and dumps them immediately. She was encouraged to do so after seeing a mouse's head peer out of a waste basket at a previous employer's office.

"I do not use hand sanitizers or antibiotics as I believe they weaken your immune system. However, I'm much more careful about office hygiene since my mouse sighting," she said.

THINK TWICE BEFORE USING THE FAX MACHINE

Gerba's research in dozens of offices has found that the "enter" and "send" buttons on fax machines carry some of the highest concentrations of harmful microbes. In contrast, lesser-used keys have significantly less contamination.

Other commonly used surfaces with high contamination levels include the "copy" button on the office copier, and the handles of restroom doors.

And before you ask to work from home, consider that Gerba's research has found much higher levels of contamination in home offices. Home workers are less likely to separate their private lives, he said.

"Children can be a major source of contamination and home workers are much more likely to do things they would never dare attempt in a corporate office, such as put their feet on the desk," Gerba said.


Okay Dorothy, Click your heels and repeat after me, "There is nothing like Rapid Fax!"

Say goodbye to germs and Hello to Rapid Fax!