HOBOKEN, N.J.–How does the cleanliness of the average ATM compare to that of a park bench, parking meter and other frequently touched objects?
A new study offers some answers.
The study, conducted by LendEDU (www.lendeducom) offers some answers. To arrive at its findings, LendEDU measured relative light units (RLU) on a variety of surfaces. LendEDU used the Hygiena SystemSURE Plus to conduct the surface testing for bacteria. SystemSURE Plus tested for adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the universal unit of energy in all living cells. A higher RLU indicates a dirtier surface, and vice versa.
LendEDU said it tested 20 different ATMs in New York City and three parts of each ATM (keypad, touchscreen, card reader). Almost all the time, the card reader was the dirtiest part, followed by the keypad, and finally the touchscreen.
According to LendEDU, the dirtiest card reader was 943 RLU, which was dirtier than anything the company tested, including a CitiBike (758 RLU), McDonalds handle (664 RLU), Subway ticket machine (599 RLU), and a park bench (503 RLU).
The dirtiest keypad was 471 RLU, while the dirtiest touchscreen was 627 RLU, LendEDU said. Averaging together all 20 ATMs, the average keypad was 267 RLU, the average touchscreen was 168 RLU, the average card reader was 423 RLU, while the overall average ATM was 286 RLU
LendEDU said it sampled 10 ATMs in high traffic areas and 10 ATMs in low traffic areas. Across the board, the high traffic ATMs were much dirtier. The company said it also tested one outside, third-party ATM on the street and it was actually not that much dirtier than the indoor, bank ATMs
The full analysis can be found here.