1. Don’t Touch the First Floor Elevator Button Everybody touches the 1st floor button and eventually eats their lunch and or picks their teeth without washing their hands. Many germs are found there because everybody returns to the first floor. Let someone else push the buttons so you don’t have, use your elbow, or the back of your knuckle instead of your finger to press the button.
2. Dangerous Shopping Cart Handles Shopping cart handles are prime culprits in the spread of germs. Some supermarkets now offer germ-killing wipes in the cart area. Bring your own if they don’t. Use them to sanitize the cart handle. And never put fresh produce in the cart seat, where diaper-aged children often sit.
3. Watch Those Escalator Handrails Escalator handrails are loaded with germs. Don’t touch them if you can manage without it.
4. Use the First Toilet
 Research shows that most people use the middle stall in public bathrooms, so avoid those. More use means they’re the dirtiest and have the most germs.
5. Office Coffee Pots Dripping With Disease Your office coffee pot and mug may have been cleaned with a sponge dripping with germs. Hang on to your own mug, and use a dishwasher when it’s time to clean it. Another trick: Keep apple cider vinegar in the office and pour a water-cider solution through the coffee machine weekly. It will help kill bacteria.
6. Kitchen Woes Be aware that kitchen sponges, dishcloths, the kitchen and bathroom sinks, cutting boards, and even the bathroom floor carry more germs than the toilet seat.
New research suggests that if you want to sterilize your sponge, put it in the microwave for two minutes. Research shows this gets rid of 99% of the bacteria.
7. Your Desk Is Dirtier Than the Toilet Who would have guessed the typical office desk area has 400 times the amount of bacteria than the average toilet seat. Worst offenders: The office phone. The desk. Finally, the keyboard. Use a disinfectant wipe to clean the desktop, computer keyboard, and phone.
8. Avoid Hand Shaking, Kissing This may be an impossibility for some, but try to avoid shaking hands or kissing during the flu season.
9. Wash your hands This is the number one way to avoid getting sick. Scrub your hands with warm water and soap (many don’t use soap) for at least 15 to 20 seconds after using the bathroom; eating, working or playing outdoors; playing with pets; or coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose. Anything less than 15 seconds won’t do the job.
Incredibly, 95 percent of people say they wash their hands after using the bathroom, but only 67 percent really do it. Worse, only 33 percent bother to use soap and only 16 percent wash their hands long enough to remove germs.
Newsmax.com’s Health Alert