If you’re snacking while you type, beware: You’re going to want to blow those chip crumbs off your computer keyboard and wash your hands after reading this. When HuffPost asked microbiologists and germ experts about how bad it is to type right after eating, they got real about how unhygienic this habit actually is. (Spoiler: It’s probably even more gross than you realize.)“If you’re using forks and spoons, you don’t really have that much to worry about,” said microbiologist Jason Tetro aka “The Germ Guy.” The problem is when you use your hands to eat chips or a portable lunch, and then use those same hands to type. “Whether you’re eating something and then touching the keyboard, or whether you’re licking the keyboard directly, it’s pretty much the same thing,” Tetro warned. “Saliva is going to get onto your fingers, and then that will get transferred over to your keyboard.”And when saliva gets coupled with food residue, it can be a match made in germ heaven. “So now you’ve incorporated food for bacteria to be able to develop biofilms on the keyboards, which is also gross,” Tetro said.In fact, this common habit may be why you randomly start sneezing and coughing from an illness a few days later.“You may be turning your keyboard into a bacteria cafeteria, because you’re putting food in there,” said Chuck Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona. Tetro said that bacteria like Staphylococcus bacteria and E. coli can live for days on keyboard surfaces: “If you give them any bit of water or any bit of food, then they’re going to start growing.” Getty/HuffPostYour fingers are carrying more germs than you think while you type –– especially if you don’t wash your hands after eating.If You Snack While You Work, You Should Regularly Sanitize Your Hands If you’re snacking while working in an office building, this can also be bad for your health because keyboards within offices are known to carry viruses. Gerba said in his virus tracer research, he has put a virus on a doorknob in an office building, “and the virus ended up on most people’s keyboard.” What your fingers touch is what you need to watch out for.“You pick up the virus on the doorknob, you put it on your keyboard, you go do something else, and you come back and you put it back on your keyboard to your fingers,” Gerba explained. And this is an upcoming seasonal concern. Gerba said that cold and influenza viruses are the most likely to be lurking on contaminated hands at work, and these viruses will most likely be spreading through offices in September and October. And your grubby hands may be making it worse. “You increase your risk because you created more exposure by contaminating the surfaces yourself,” Gerba said. The good news is that there’s an easy fix. Ideally you would stop eating while typing, but germ experts know that is not realistic for most desk workers. Tetro said he’s been trying to convince people not to eat at their keyboards for 20 years and has failed.“Since I can’t get to get people to change their behavior, just keep a wet wipe around ― it’ll help,” he said. “My recommendation is always to have wet wipes around for your hands or for your computer.”Microbiologists recommended cleaning your hands with hand sanitizer or having a wet wipe after eating. That way you can wipe down your laptop and you can clean your fingers in between snacks. Keeping hand sanitizer on your desk can also be a helpful visual reminder of what you need to do after your lunch break. Gerba said he has found that simply having a hand sanitizer within easy reach can make “a huge difference” in how germs spread in buildings. So on your next snack break, remember to pause before you return back to work, and cleanse your hands. It’s a small action that will make a big difference this cold season. “You have to look at your keyboard not as just a tool, but also as a possible route for you to get infected,” Tetro said.