I seldom sterilize my sponge because they seem to disappear. Either my wife replaces them or they’re eaten by carcinogenic sponge bacteria.
I put my sink sponge in the dishwasher once in a while, because it looks dirty. Eventually it starts to leave sponge scat so I throw it away and start a new one. I don’t care if it is bacterial or not, since I don’t eat off it, and I don’t eat off the surfaces I clean with it. The few dishes I wash by hand get washed with a dishcloth in scalding soapy water and then rinsed in scalding plain water.
I was wondering the same.
Does pouring boiling water on a sponge, scrubpad, or washcloth have the same effect as microwaving?
This is getting more and more common. I’m convinced (with zero evidence) that this phenomena is behind all the body shaving (i.e. brazilians, chest waxing for dudes, etc) that’s so popular. People think hair harbours germs and they want a nice clean ‘surface’.
I find it creepy and depressing. It seems like we’re afraid of everything - kidnappers, juvenile deliquents, germs, etc. And we’re all safer and healthier than we’ve ever been.
Boiling water kills bacteria, but they may need to be exposed to those high temperatures for a few minutes. Pouring boiling water on a sponge will kill a lot of the bacteria, but may not kill them all.
Is this an urban legend? people used to think that deep pile carpets were bad 9they harbored dirt and bacteria).
I just read something that implied that these carpets are good-they trap a lot of dust and germs that we would otherwise inhale.
Nope:
Same here, it seems to be a self-correcting attribute of the sponge itself to ensure propogation. After a couple of weeks of use, a new sponge appears on the sink in its place. Wikipedia explains the mechanism. Amazing creatures, those sponges.
I don’t think that preventing a sponge from getting stinky amounts to a phobia.
As you can see, ralph124c wasn’t asking about stinky sponges, but about Dangerous Sponges.
Worrying about whether your sponge is dangerous right after you sterilize it could probably be considered phobic. IMO, worrying about Dangerous Sponges at all is phobic, but it’s a manufactured phobia brought to you by the makers of cleaning products.
I use my sponge for cleaning dishes only. When done, I ring it out and leave it on my dry counter behind the faucet.
I use the same sponge a good 6 weeks or more.
For counters, I spray a diluted bleach mixture, then dry with paper towels.
Normal germs are good and necessary.
There have been some great NPR podcasts lately about the evolutionary relationship of humans and bacteria. I’ll see about finding some links.
I use a sponge with a nylon jacket to scrub stuck-on food from dishes before popping them in the dishwasher. The same sponge is used to get stuck-on messes off the counter and stove. I follow up with a washcloth. I’ll use the sponge till the jacket falls apart, and while I’ve never microwaved or boiled it, I will occasionally work up a good lather with dish detergent or soft scrub and use it to clean the sink.
I wash my hands often when handling food but I don’t go crazy about germs - it’s just not an issue for me. The whole anti-bacterial movement is, IMHO, overreaction, plain and simple. There are situations where extreme sanitation is critical, but my kitchen in every day life ain’t one of them.
Sounds like a Dobie. I washed dishes with one of these when I was a tyke and had to stand on a chair to reach the sink, and I still keep a stash of them under the sink because I’m afraid they’ll stop making them. (Gives a whole new meaning to “spongeworthy.”) I run it through the dishwasher occasionally too, but only because I’ve used it to scrub out a particularly greasy, dirty pan.
It may be a very euphonious sponge, but it’ll be a drier sponge if you wring it out instead.