Fighting The Invisible Enemy
Like most germs, bacteria and harmful pathogens, COVID-19 is essentially an invisible enemy. Even surfaces that appear clean can be crawling with salmonella, MRSA and other dangerous bacteria. So how do we tell if a surface is truly clean? Fortunately, Bioguard America takes a scientific approach in order to quantify the effectiveness of our cleaning and disinfecting processes. We use a proven testing method called ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) before each cleaning project to measure the biofilm or pathogen levels of the surfaces prior to performing our disinfection services.By collecting samples from the environments, and measuring the ATP levels, it gives a direct measure of biological concentration in the environments. As a result, the ATP testing system is the gold standard endorsed by the CDC and used by thousands of lab technicians and microbiologists around the globe.
What is ATP Testing?
The ATP meter gives a numeric measurement of organic material on a surface, measured in relative light units (RLU) thereby providing a quantifiable indication of clean. The more ATP present on a surface, the higher the RLU measurement.The detection of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), the universal unit energy in all living cells, determines if surfaces are truly clean. For those sensitive areas like homes, schools, nurseries and, health institutions, ATP Cleaning Verification provides a quick way to detect microorganisms.
What The Numbers Mean
All bacteria and the support system they live in leave a marker –ATP. ATP is the energy currency that stores energy and powers cells. Think of it as cellular gasoline. Virtually all cells – including bacteria – contain ATP at different levels. The higher the ATP level, the more likely it is to harbor biofilm and pathogens.
At an ATP reading of Zero it is extremely unlikely that there are any harmful bacteria on the surface that will be harmful. An ATP reading of less than 30 indicates it is unlikely that there is surface contamination on the surface that will support pathogen growth. However, for an ATP reading of 100 or greater the probability of something harmful being on the surface is better than 50/50 – odds that you probably don’t like when thinking about your, or your children’s, health. See Chart Below:
| ATP Reading (RLU) | Probability of Pathogenic Biofilm |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0.0001% |
| 10 | 0.1% |
| 30 | 2% |
| 100 | 50% |
| 200 | 99% |
| >300 | 99.9% |