2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
About the danger of bacteria on sponges and the best disinfectants.
Over time, a dishwashing sponge can lose its shape and become a real breeding ground for bacteria, which forces us to send it to the trash can. However, some try to delay this moment as much as possible, often rinsing the sponge and disinfecting. Is it possible to do this and how effective is it? A group of German scientists tried to answer this question.
Researchers bacteria on 14 kitchen sponges, some of which were cleaned on a regular basis. The test results are as follows:
- a lot of various bacteria really accumulate on the sponges, but they are all absolutely harmless to healthy people;
- disinfection of the sponge will not in any way affect the level or speed of its further contamination - the bacteria will still return, although it may be in a different "composition";
- and yet, disinfecting kitchen sponges does make sense.
Senior author of the study, Markus Egert, suggested his own way of cleaning kitchen sponges - he prefers to throw them in the washing machine with powdered detergent and bleach. There are other methods with proven effectiveness. Here are three from Michigan State University:
- Place the damp sponge in the microwave for one minute at high heat.
- Throw the sponge in the dishwasher for the longest wash at the highest heating temperature (plus the drying cycle).
- Soak a sponge in diluted bleach for one minute.
Since the bacterial ecosystem of the sponge changes over time, Egert believes that after a while it is worth starting to use the sponge for other tasks - for example, you can start washing the bath with a kitchen sponge. This can increase its service life.
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