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163 Comments
- legendxx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+139they did, they're called sponges
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+95"Know that sponge you clean dishes with? Here's how to sanitize it."
..........
My girlfriend wouldn't appreciate being called a sponge!
...it seemed funnier in my head :) - Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+70Yes, this works. However, if you leave the sponge in too long, and all the water evaporates out, the sponge will begin to burn/melt. The inside of your microwave, kitchen and house will smell like burnt evil for a long long time, so much so that you may think you need to buy a new microwave.
You don't need to buy a new microwave, you just need to clean the hell out of the one you have, and it'll still reek for a long time, but eventually the smell will go away.
I am laughing right now about the number of people to whom this is happening right now as I am typing. - sockpuppets, on 10/12/2007, -2/+62Now how about that sponge on my couch eating bons bons and watching Jerry Springer?
- Thomas72, on 10/12/2007, -2/+57This information will have an powerful effect on the sponge industry as people are now able to utilize their kitchen sponges a lot longer.
We have just witnessed a historic moment. - neoform, on 10/12/2007, -2/+44while this might be a good idea, living in overly sanitary environments is more harmful than beneficial.
Exposure to bacteria helps build immunities. - badken, on 10/12/2007, -1/+42Indeed! Sponge manufacturers have been sitting on this information for years!
I heard these University of Florida researchers got death threats from 3M... - ZippidyDoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+29Wow, now my apartment smells like *****. Just gonna buy a new sponge next time and not kill my creation.
- skored, on 10/12/2007, -1/+26Hopefully everyone's dishes are cleaner than this: "Writing in the Journal of Environmental Health, Bitton and colleagues said they soaked sponges and scrubbing pads in raw wastewater containing fecal bacteria such as E. coli, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores."
Cool article though - I haven't seen too many Reuters article like this :) - wordsthatendini, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25I was about 90% sure that the comment for the article would be, "Get a new Sponge". Since they are something close to 10 for a buck.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+24Try not leaving the sponge in the bottom of your sink wrapped in 3 day old Ramen.
- lpmiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23We fear germs way too much.
- jakdracula, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19I just killed Sponge Bob Squarepants!
- kitchensj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19Someone should invent a disposable, biodegradable, cheap sponge.
- jkjoker, on 10/12/2007, -18/+35i just tried it with my little brother, he melted. Ahhh maybe i will just sponge him out from the microwave.
- commiecat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17Or you can read the article.
"People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave," said Gabriel Bitton, a professor of environmental engineering who led the study.
The title says "sanitize", not "clean". - roosterjm2k2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Actually, if you use anti-bacterial soap, you would also kill most of them.
It doesnt say that the microwave is the BEST way, just that it -is- a way of doing it.
Personally, i think we over sterilize everything in our lives. We need bacteria and germs and viruses, the daily variety kind, to help our bodies learn to cope with them. By taking out the weak bacteria and germs and viruses, we are not allowing our immune system (which works like any other organ in our body -- "use it or lose it") to build itself up. Then a common bug comes along and knocks you on your ass and you don't understand why.
I personally will not use anti-bacterial soap. I use regular soap. I take a bath once a day, i wash my hands when needed (not every 10 minutes like some people i know seem to do), i dont have a container or hand-sanitizer on my desk...i mean, if you're going that far, you may as well just wear a gas mask outside of the house (or inside too). I only buy my meat from a real butcher...no preservatives ... the preservatives in most meats hurt us by also killing some of the helpful bacteria in our digestive tract..
There are times for sterilization...surgery for example...our bodies are designed to deal with infection and contaminates in areas that we comonly have them at, allowing bacteria directly onto the heart for example, would make it very difficult for our immune system to stop it...because its not designed that way...so im not saying that sterilization is all bad.
And lastly, cleanliness is godliness. Cleanliness != sterility. Be clean...by all means, but don't overdo it. - Iknockstuffdown, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Its usually not best to put your sponge in the microwave if it doubles as your toilet paper.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Hot water and soap? You sir, are an idiot.
You are fairly confident the team of engineering researchers at the University of Florida didn't use a control of soap and water?
Read, think, respond.. Don't skip the first two. - Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18 Parasocks 11 minutes ago
"Hot water and soap? You sir, are an idiot.
You are fairly confident the team of engineering researchers at the University of Florida didn't use a control of soap and water?
Read, think, respond.. Don't skip the first two"
Actually you are an idiot. People have been using sponges, rags etc. for thousands of years. You think that suddenly now that we have microwaves we're going to be safer? Show me one example of someone getting sick from a sponge used normally in a kitchen. Just ONE.
Illnesses derived from poor practices in kitchens are almost exclusively due to poor refrigeration and food handling techniques.
from the New York Times:
"The only way common food poisoning bacteria can manage this is to spend four or five hours reproducing at room temperature in something moist THAT YOU THEN EAT. If you are worried about food poisoning, the best defense is the refrigerator. If you don't make a habit of eating perishable food that has been left out too long, don't worry about bacteria."
THIS BACTERIA PHOBIA IS *****. YOU CAN WIPE DOWN YOUR COUNTERS WITH BLEACH AND WITHIN MINUTES AFTER THE BLEACH IS GONE IT IS COVERED WITH BACTERIA AGAIN. IT ISN'T HARMFUL AS LONG AS YOU CLEAN THINGS UP.
READ THIS THEN COMMENT:
http://plaza.snu.ac.kr/~premed/The%20New%20York%20Times%20%20Health%20%20ESSAY%20Germs,%20Germs%20Everywhere_%20Are%20You%20Worried%20Get%20Over%20It.htm - lagrange, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15People are far too afraid of germs. Your sponge does not need to be sanitized, nor does your counter top, your floor and every other surface in your house, unless you plan on performing surgery there.
- amandaw33, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13i did it, i kept a close eye on it, it just basically evaporated all of the moisture in the sponge almost as if it was new out of the packaging.
- umdigger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Wow, sure didn't work with my steel wool sponge. Though it was pretty entertaining.
- yeahbuddy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16Thanks OP. Now my kitchen smells like ass.
- notbrittish788, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13The constant elimination of old germs with new anti-bacterial lotions and related products is only leaving the germs resistant to any and all poisons, thus creating strands of super germs. That's right, super germs.
- FiZiX610, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Dugdig: They also don't have any refined sugar in their diets. Many indigenous people have no tooth decay problems until exposed to refined sugars.
- goldfenix, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13I must point out, however, that sponges in the wild live in great Ramen forests where macaronis skittle across the ground and pizza boxes prey on the other natural wildlife.
So really, your sponge is simply trying to go home. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8The best thing to do with your toothbrush is to store it bristles-down in a cup of 50/50 listerine/water between uses.
Don't use listerine in your mouth, though, it increases incidence of mouth cancer and throws off your microbial balance, leading to increased incidence of tooth & gum problems. Use a nice alcohol-free enzymatic mouthwash like Biotene. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9 Put the sponge in a bowl of water, then nuke.
- waffledad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7If you don't make sure the sponge is wet before you put it in (it works on the principle that the water heats to boiling within the sponge and kills all the bacteria). If you leave it in too long or there isn't enough moisture in the sponge, it drys out and the stench is unbearable and gets into your microwave. We had this happen and had to put all sorts of good smelling things into the microwave (even potpourri in water) to kill the smell in the microwave.
I found it is easier to put the hottest water you have into your kitchen sink and then put about a 1/2 a cup of bleach in the water and then squeeze the sponges under the water (wear rubber gloves to protect your hands) so they absorb the bleach water and then let them soak for 5 mins. Drain the water and then put in the microwave for 2 mins and they never stink the microwave, other than bleach, which evaporates. - joshf52, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7"I don't use sponges. I wonder, how dirty is my scrub brush? I guess it's a good thing I have an overactive immune system."
Thanks, Dwight Schrute. - kungfoofairy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I don't use sponges. I wonder, how dirty is my scrub brush? I guess it's a good thing I have an overactive immune system.
- jordan314, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I've done this a lot too. The sponges start to get stinky after a while, as does your microwave. I'm not sure if I believe that this sanitizes them.
- ZippidyDoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Gotta save a tree somehow!
- InternetUser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You can do this with your bread/chopping board too.
- michaelb1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5works with dish rags also.
Doesn't work with pots and pans. - jgustie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Eventually the human immune system will just evolve away because no one uses it anymore...
- whiledo, on 03/25/2009, -1/+6Did it occur to you that this backwoods tribe has no access to refined sugar/carbohydrates?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5not only that, it also turns you less resistant to them.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Rule of thumb:
If it smells gross, it is gross. - tont0r, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5How about you just buy another sponge? They cost like $3 for 6 of them.
- icu_, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Yes, great idea and while your at it try it out on your pots and pans.
This sounds all well and good till we have an radioactive super-race of mega-sponges bent on world domination via the absorption of the world's oceans. - Rosco, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6@ sockpuppets
I had a sponge like that, the best thing to do is throw it out. When it becomes something like that it has worn out its usefulness. Let me know if you need a good sanitation specialist (lawyer) - PretLetters, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4No electricity. Just adding some bleach to your environment, like, every day or so.
- amandaw33, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I think it's more common then you may realize. Try googling kitchen sponge bacteria. Gross stuff out there.
"''A sponge that's been in use for no more than two or three days in a kitchen will harbor millions of bacteria,'' said Elizabeth Scott, co-director of the Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in the Home at Simmons College in Boston. That's a problem, she said, ''if you pick up the pathogen or a pathogenic E. coli, salmonella or campylobacter on the sponge.'' "
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9F04E4DA1538F93BA15752C0A9629C8B63
There's tons more too...
http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arch/9_14_96/bob2.htm
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/1031002316.html - richashby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Just tried it and did seem to work.
Now if I can just find a huge transponder style microwave oven for my desk... - Van3ck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Very useful info.
I will use this method to sanitize my steel wool scrubbies too... - Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@parasocks:
The floor/counter watever doesn't need to be any more sanitized than her vag. - charlie55, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3nice link from boondoggle. i have read mary roach before and i have always liked her. she brings some sensible thoughts to the germophobes. i always sorta suspected that ant-bacterial stuff couldnt do much when everything was constantly covered with the little critters anyways.
- bronkobilly, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Burn the sponge or throw it away instead of trying to sanatize it
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