In the right conditions one bacterium can multiply to more than four million in just eight hours. This can make them up to 200 times more infested that a lavatory seat.
I’m loving this idea and will start today. Why didn’t I do this before? Nuke your sponges for two minutes. Four minutes if you’re really worried. It’ll kill damn near anything. The test was using untreated sewage…
Warning: people have been setting sponges and such on fire. Don’t do that. Use some sense and keep an eye on things, and wet the damn things first (microwaves cook water, not solids so much).
The results were unambiguous. Two minutes of microwaving on full power mode killed or inactivated more than 99 per cent of all the living pathogens in the sponges and pads.
Read the article on why you should microwave sponges and dishcloths and stuff.
I’ve been washing them in the dishwasher every night – on the top shelf, tucked in between two coffee cups. I had thought about nuking them, but was afraid I’d blow them up and set the house on fire. Oh, and we replace sponges every month.
I replace my sponges weekly. I’m not so into killing bacteria anyways. Makes the immune system stronger! Let’s go eat some dirt!
(Why are all the smileys green now?)
People should be warned though… The sponges need to be WET before microwaving them. Apparently some people sort of missed that point in the article, put dry sponges in the microwave… with bad results.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16796327/