Recently, the video game industry gains huge popularity and that’s why the competition between players appearing against which gaming console is the best and on top. But one thing that no player wants to rank worst is the cleanliness of their console. From personal hygiene to food waste, many video game players never consider the necessity to clean their keyboards or controllers, regardless of the thing that for how much time they touch it.
As this study from the Betway Insider highlights, how much bacteria present on various parts of your devices there is an experiment conducted. The experiment was about analyzing the sets of consoles and computers that are selected randomly as well as a toilet seat and kitchen table. Thus, here we are giving you a list of some consoles to let you know more about it.
- PlayStation
The top-selling PlayStation of the modern generation is also the least clean, with only Personal Computers showing more bacteria. Moreover, the sample PlayStations analyzed that it has colony-forming bacteria units per swab taken. It’s 2.4 times more than is on the toilet seat.
The buttons and joysticks were the worst parts of the console for the growth of bacteria. In these two, the average number of colony-forming units was 190, which was higher than the equal on any other platform. Furthermore, amongst the sample set, in worst cases, this reached 650 units that are more than double the number you can expect on the surface of a kitchen.
- PC
In discussions about game consoles, PC is generally an outsider. But, in terms of bacteria, it is the worst by a noteworthy margin. The keyboards of PCs show many signs of colony-forming units with an average of 165 per swab. The mouse also has most of the bacteria on its surface. On average, mouse swab shows that there are 247.5 colony-forming units which are only 27.5 lesser than the surface of the kitchen. Because of the risk to the electric components it probably doesn’t get the same level of systematic cleaning with disinfectant products. Additionally, even the ‘ON’ button of a PC is considerably worse with an average of 115 colony-forming units per swab as compared to the mainstream of places tested across all platforms.
- Xbox
In the test, the Xbox consoles showed a median of 62.5 colonies that are forming units per swab. This is more than double that is found on a toilet seat. However, the number on the triggers was the lowermost across all platforms tested at only 15, but with 82.5 controller handles showed the highest forming units.
In addition to this, the Xbox also showed some of the dirtiest samples. It showed that on the controller’s buttons, the worst console tested having 5,614 colony-forming units. However, this didn’t occur commonly across those tested.
- Switch
The Nintendo Switch provides the cleanest version of gaming. It has a median of 55 colony-forming units per swab. As it is 25 more than you would find on a toilet seat but was one of the lowest numbers amongst all the tested platforms. The Joy-Cons tested registered a similar number throughout, whereas the buttons were only a bit higher at 62.5.
# Controllers tested under the microscope
The analysis shows clearly that consoles do get quite dirty. But, when you play games then it’s not possible to think of cleaning your hands before playing. Germs can spread in many ways such as little spit particles when you shout at your TV while picking your nose and others.
# PlayStation vs Xbox – The Competition Continues
For many years, there is close competition between PlayStation and Xbox. The fight between them more exploded with the latest launching of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. So, we test them to know which gamers truly are dirtier. You can see the results for finding out on average how many germs were found across the various parts of the PlayStation and Xbox.
# Different types of bacteria grow on your devices
So, till now you know that on average, gaming consoles are three times dirtier than a toilet seat. The most common types of bacteria, from human skin to mould are Bacillus Cup, Staphylococcus SPP, and Mould.
# The fact about cleanliness
The testing reveals that there’s a large degree of bacterial build-up even on the cleanest platforms. Only Xbox controller had a lower number of colony-forming units in comparison to a toilet seat. It includes controllers, buttons, keyboards, mouse, and handles that usually have more chances to get infect.
Normally, most of these bacteria don’t harm, some can might be harmful if inhaled in enough quantities. So, it’s good to maintain a nominal amount of mould, bacteria, and yeast on items that you touch on a regular basis. Hence, as a part of your normal cleaning routine, you should clean your equipment at least one time a week to keep your home clean as well as safe.
# How you can clean your console?
For avoiding a build-up of mould and bacteria, it’s significant to clean down your game console regularly. You can do it in several ways that are mentioned below:
- To avoid any accidental damage, you must begin by unplugging your console.
- Use a small quantity of plastic-friendly bleach-free cleaning solution and a damp cloth to wipe around the keyboard, controllers, and Mouse.
- For cleaning the console itself, use a dry cloth, a microfibre cloth for removing any fingerprints or dust. Also, it is significant to not use any solution on the device, because it can store some moisture and cause damage to it.
- Also, make sure to wipe the surface below your console for removing any dust, as it may be very dirty too.
- However, for the controllers, you must not use too much liquid to confirm you don’t by chance damage your system.
- For keyboards, you can use specialized cleaning solutions such as deep-reaching gel or a spray. It can go well between the keys and allow better access to hard-to-reach spots.
# Comparison between our devices and everyday items
In a deep analysis, you can see that how every single part of the diverse consoles compare to the usual amount of germs found on a toilet seat or kitchen table or toilet seat.
So, it’s an interesting thing to see a comparison between different areas of various consoles and day-to-day use items. It is surprising to found in a study that the kitchen table in fact holds the most bacteria out of any of the cleansed items. Hence, it’s very vital to clean items like controllers for avoiding any likely health risks that they might present and affect you.
