This just in:

[conuly]

Kitchen sponges? Dirtier than toilets.

At this point, I'm starting to wonder if there's anything less likely to harbor germs than your average toilet! Yeesh.

Comments

[appadil.livejournal.com]

Unless they've been heat-sterilized, kitchen sponges are RIDICULOUSLY germy; you've got a moist, stagnant environment at room temperature that's often full of nutrients from spills that have been wiped up. It's like a bacterial paradise in there.

[conuly]

Oh, I already knew this. I'm not even remotely surprised. I just like to keep track of these stories.

[leora.livejournal.com]

That's why it's good to let your sponges be regularly exposed to direct sunlight and to periodically soak them in a bleach solution. Or throw them out and buy new ones.

[conuly]

Or, alternatively, to shrug and embrace the filth.

[appadil.livejournal.com]

Or to put them through the dishwasher or heat them in the microwave for a minute or two. The same death-by-temperature that works when we're cooking meat also does a pretty thorough job of killing the bacteria in sponges.

[leora.livejournal.com]

That makes sense and I hadn't thought of it. I might try microwaving some sponges. I'm hand washing a lot of dishes right now.

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

I don't use sponges. Inefficient at best, smelly at worst.

[feebeeglee.livejournal.com]

I use knitted dishcloths and pitch em in the washer.

[appadil.livejournal.com]

Unless they've been heat-sterilized, kitchen sponges are RIDICULOUSLY germy; you've got a moist, stagnant environment at room temperature that's often full of nutrients from spills that have been wiped up. It's like a bacterial paradise in there.

[conuly]

Oh, I already knew this. I'm not even remotely surprised. I just like to keep track of these stories.

[leora.livejournal.com]

That's why it's good to let your sponges be regularly exposed to direct sunlight and to periodically soak them in a bleach solution. Or throw them out and buy new ones.

[conuly]

Or, alternatively, to shrug and embrace the filth.

[appadil.livejournal.com]

Or to put them through the dishwasher or heat them in the microwave for a minute or two. The same death-by-temperature that works when we're cooking meat also does a pretty thorough job of killing the bacteria in sponges.

[leora.livejournal.com]

That makes sense and I hadn't thought of it. I might try microwaving some sponges. I'm hand washing a lot of dishes right now.

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

I don't use sponges. Inefficient at best, smelly at worst.

[feebeeglee.livejournal.com]

I use knitted dishcloths and pitch em in the washer.