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Microwave zaps germs on sponges, study finds
Mon Jan 22, 3:20 PM ET
Two minutes in a microwave oven can sterilize most household sponges, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
A team of engineering researchers at the University of Florida found that two minutes of microwaving on full power killed or inactivated more than 99 percent of bacteria, viruses or parasites, as well as spores, on a kitchen sponge.
"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.
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.
Then they used a common household microwave oven to heat up the sponges. It took four to 10 minutes to kill all the spores but everything else was killed after two, they said.
"The microwave is a very powerful and an inexpensive tool for sterilization," Bitton said.
At least 76 million Americans get sick from food borne microbes every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 5,000 people die from them.
Kitchens are a common source of these illnesses.
Then how do you 'scrub' baked on stuff? Wash off the oven top? I know, you are 20 something and use tons of Bounty towels?
LOL! Me too! Then again, I bake/cook alot. When the time comes, remember the microwave! Germs, nasty, yuk!
They also say you should either buy a new toothbrush after a couple months or put it in a cup of half water and half peroxide.
For sure! Actually, (ok I'm a bit over the top), I use http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A7W5DI/?tag=ff0d01-20
I buy the 6 pak replacements and change about every month. The brushes are 'covered' but I still wash in dishwasher and zap every week. For some reason they do wear out quick.
Never leave your toothbrush on the bathroom counter uncovered! Hope you haven't just eaten:
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f02/web2/stan.html
I guess I'm just an energy saving nerd from the 70's, but the microwave thing scares me. Isn't 5 minutes in there a huge waste of power? Also, sponges are plastic, and after the water is boiled off won't the thing melt and start to fume, maybe even burn? I squeeze mine dry and toss 'em in the top rack of the dishwasher. Chlorine and hot water kill almost everything. If they stink at all, they get thrown away.
I'll have to look into the toothbrush thing, but it seems to me if you rinse it off well there should be no problem. I don't keep mine anywhere near the toilet, as I've heard that certain fluids that go in there can aerosol.
I don't add chlorine to my dishwasher. The sponge is not 'wrung dry' but put in wet. I'll pay the 5 minutes for disinfected sponge.
