We depend on our mobile phones on all sorts of tasks everyday, from calls, to messages and to emails. Now, just how dirty is our personal gadget?

We uncover the shocking details for you here on CTS News.

According to a study conducted by a British magazine, your cell phone carries nearly 18 times more living bacteria than on the flush handle on a men's lavatory. The research also shows that bacteria linger on the surface of handsets that can be easily passed to other users.

Check out this caller for instance. While eating French fries, she uses her greasy hands to pick up the phone, and then she contaminates the keypad by sending out a text message.

In general, bacteria found on cell phones are not directly harmful to our health, but can act as breeding ground for more serious germs.

And how do we say bye bye to the bacteria on our phones? Clean it with an alcohol wipe regularly to sufficiently disinfect it.