That’s ridiculous. Trace amounts of many different bacteria, like you find on doorknobs and common area furniture and such, is far less dangerous than standing directly next to a fountain of crap and inhaling all the gas and liquid particles that are present in the area. People seem to think that variety of bacteria is just as bad as sheer quantity, and that just ain’t so.
From least to most expedient:
1 - rumple the bills, twisting and bending and rubbing until they separate. Yes, this is the slow method.
2 - ask the cashier if you can have a dab of that Sortkwik (“the pink stuff” as we refer to it at work). Problem is, if you get too much on your fingers (you really only need a quick swipe) it’s not that helpful
3 - ask the cashier for help - we get a LOT of practice with that sort of thing.
4 - a dab of hand sanitizer, which is common as dirt these days, will do the job quickest.
I have - some joker though it would be funny to use rubber cement. Got all over the inside of the bill counter at work, too. That was a fun 20 minutes to clean up (not!)
Hand sanitizer, hand sanitizer, hand sanitizer…