It’s where you eat, and spend a few quiet moments away from your desk and it is the dirtiest place you will come in contact with all day.

Who would think that the break room has more germs and bacteria than the bathroom?

Kimberly-Clark recently swabbed local office break rooms and found out just that.

Appliances and cleaning supplies can often harbor bacteria and mold derailing your efforts to keep things clean.

Regularly run your toothbrush through a clean dishwasher, using standard dish detergent. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Dentistry found that this method eradicated nearly all disease-causing bacteria. Another option is to soak your brush in a mouthwash that contains cetylpyridinium chloride, such as Crest Pro-Health Complete Rinse, for 20 minutes; doing this can also beat bacteria, the study found. To avoid flying feces, Tierno says, simply store your brush in a closed cabinet.

An investigation into skin lesions developed by two individuals after getting tattoos has concluded that both were infected with a bacteria not previously linked to the business.

The infections involved Mycobacterium haemophilum, which usually only strikes individuals with compromised immune systems.

In this instance, however, the patients, both from Seattle, developed rashes despite the fact that both had normal immune systems, a report on the investigation found.

The authors pointed out that tattooing is not considered a sterile procedure, is not regulated at the federal level and can be risky. And while the specific inks and colorings (pigments) commonly used to apply tattoos are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the rules usually apply only when cosmetics or color additives are involved.

Labeling and marketing materials for hand sanitizers claim that they can prevent infection from disease-causing germs and viruses, and some claim to protect against E. coli and the H1N1 swine flu virus.

There is no proof to support these claims and the companies are marketing them in violation of federal law.

Federal regulators are warning companies that make over-the-counter hand sanitizers to stop exaggerating the bacteria-killing benefits of their products

Hand sanitizer and other over-the-counter products can’t prevent dangerous staph infections no matter what they claim, federal officials warned Wednesday.

The Food and Drug Administration ordered four companies that make such promises to change their marketing practices, arguing there is no proof the store-bought products prevent H1N1, MRSA or E. coli – as they suggest.

The products include Staphaseptic First Aid Antiseptic/Pain Relieving Gel, Safe4Hours Hand Sanitizing Lotion, Dr. Tichenor’s Antiseptic Gel and CleanWell All-Natural Hand Sanitizing Wipes.

The manufacturers were given 15 days to change labeling and marketing material or face seizure of products.