Rubbing alcohol (70% IPA, as advised by the WHO and CDC)
Spray bottle
Towel
Microfibre cloth
Why You Need to Sanitise Money
Because money is frequently exchanged, it can transfer germs and viruses from one person to another. Banknotes have been shown to contain a host of dirt and germs, yet they are still widely used throughout the world. The question we ask ourselves is: What safety measures can we take to protect ourselves?
The simple solution is to wash your hands after handling cash. But you could take it one step further and sanitise your banknotes too.
We will show you in this post how to clean your wallet and cash to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses. When sanitising the banknotes, it's crucial to keep in mind that we don't want to cross-contaminate anything.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Follow the instructions below to learn how to sanitise bank notes/paper money without cross-contaminating everything else.
Step One: Set Up your Surface
Wash your hands first and put on disposable gloves.
Lay a towel on the table before placing the wallet on the table.
Take your wallet out of your pocket with your left hand and place it on the towel.
Hold a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol in your right hand and spray your left hand to disinfect it.
Step Two: Disinfect the Bank Notes
Take the cash out of the wallet using your left hand (remember, the right hand has not yet come into contact with any contaminated surfaces).
Lay the notes flat on the towel and spray with rubbing alcohol to clean them. Turn the notes over using your left hand and re-spray them.
Allow the rubbing alcohol to evaporate from the banknotes.
Step Three: Disinfect Your Wallet
First, spray some disinfectant on your left hand because it has been in contact with the contaminated money and wallet.
Spray down your wallet, then flip it over and repeat. Use your microfiber cloth to wipe down the wallet.
Disinfect the inside of the wallet in which we stored the contaminated banknotes. To do this, we spray the inside of the wallet and use the edge of the microfibre cloth to wipe it down.
Step Four: Wrap it Up
Your wallet and cash are sanitised, leaving the spray bottle as the only cross-contaminated item. Which can later be washed in the sink.
Spray the microfiber cloth and cleaning towel. Wrap it up, and use the towel's uncontaminated bottom side to wipe away any excess rubbing alcohol from the table.
Launder the towel to get rid of any germs.
Take off the disposable gloves, turn them inside out, and throw them away.
Better to be Safe Than Sorry
Due to the many hands that it touches, money has the potential to spread a wide range of pathogens. Money can be one of the most dangerous ways to spread infectious diseases. Following the advice above, it’s important to wash your hands after handling money and to properly sanitise your banknotes.
