The 9 Dirtiest Things in Your Sydney Office, Ranked by Bacteria (And No, It’s Not the Toilet Seat)
You think you know filth? Think again.
We’ve cleaned hundreds of offices across Sydney — from pristine Barangaroo boardrooms to funky Marrickville co-working spaces with kombucha on tap and a questionable mop routine. And let us tell you: the dirtiest stuff is never what you think it is.
People obsess over toilets and bathrooms (fair), but the worst bacteria parties in your office happen right under your fingertips… or worse, your lips.
This ranking isn’t theory — it’s based on real Ultrix cleaning jobs, ATP swab data, and the horrors we’ve seen with our own very-well-gloved hands.
Let’s rank them from “should probably clean that” to “you might actually be growing a new species.”
9. Office Phones
Landlines are the crusty old relics of office tech — and they’re crusty in more ways than one. When was the last time anyone wiped one down? They’ve got everything: mouth bacteria, sweat, makeup, coffee mist. We’ve cleaned phones that smelled like the person who used them. That's not a compliment.
8. Elevator Buttons
Yes, your lift is fancy. No, it’s not clean. Elevator buttons get pressed by fingers that have just wiped noses, scratched heads, and unwrapped protein bars. They’re a hotspot of invisible grossness, especially in busy high-rises where hygiene is a polite fiction.
7. Desk Surfaces
You know what we find on most Sydney desks? Not just dust. We’re talking food crumbs, old receipts, mystery stains, and the odd toenail clipping (not kidding). Desks are where people eat, spill, sneeze, and never wipe properly. Disgusting. Do better.
6. Keyboards
Ah yes, the bacteria buffet. Keyboards are moist (yes, we said it), warm, and packed with tiny crevices that trap sweat, skin, and snacks. We’ve literally flipped keyboards upside down and watched them snow trail mix. You think that “air spray” fixed it? No. You need disinfectant and therapy.
5. Break Room Fridge Handle
Not the fridge itself — just the handle. Every lunch hour, it becomes a viral handprint gallery. Everyone touches it. No one cleans it. Bonus germ points if your office fridge is near the microwave and gets splatter cross-contamination.
4. Shared Pens
Nothing says “professional workplace” like sharing a germ stick. If your office still uses a sign-in sheet with a communal pen, congratulations — you’re holding five people’s sneeze particles. Pens get dropped, borrowed, licked (we hope not), and never sanitised.
3. The Office Kettle
Steeped in germs. The handle is filthy. The lid is worse. And the inside? Let’s just say some of your colleagues are not using filtered water and have never heard of descaling. If the kettle is white on the inside… and it’s not a white kettle… you have a problem.
2. Door Handles (Especially to Meeting Rooms)
Meeting room doors are like bacteria Tinder — everyone touches them during peak stress hours. We’ve seen handles that were literally sticky from sweat, snacks, and unmentionables. If your boardroom has a lingering smell, start with the door.
1. The Office Sponge
And here it is: the reigning champion of filth. That crusty blue or yellow rectangle sitting by the sink? It’s the dirtiest item in your entire office. Sponges trap moisture and bacteria and basically marinate in it all day. Wiping your mug with one is like cleaning it with raw chicken.
🧼 Time to Clean the Right Things
At Ultrix Cleaning, we specialise in seriously detailed commercial cleans that go beyond just vacuuming around desks. We sanitise surfaces, handle hotspots, and eliminate the bacteria traps most offices don’t even think about.
📍 Sydney-wide.
🔬 Office, gyms, clinics, salons.
🚫 No sponge left behind.
👉 Book your full service clean now at www.ultrixcleaning.com – and let’s exterminate that office sponge together.