Finding out how dirty a cash machine is would be useless without something to compare it to. So, as well as researching how dirty a typical cash machine in London is, we also looked into how it compares to other objects you might touch on a daily basis, as well as what you can do about the germs you encounter, and most importantly what you should do with all this info.
To conduct this study Quid Corner looked at cash machines from various boroughs all over London. They swabbed each cash machine and then placed the cotton swab in an RLU reader (the SystemSURE Plus). An RLU reader is a device that uses measurements of light to test for adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a chemical that bacteria use to process energy. The SystemSURE Plus returns an RLU (relative light unit) score, with 10 RLU being a safe limit for dining or operating room surfaces. By swabbing the keypad, touchscreen, and card reader they were able to determine which parts of the average cash machine were the dirtiest.
Then, just for comparison’s sake, they did the same thing to various objects around the city that you might encounter on a typical commute. Sounds like a grim job, right?
