Re: Microwave Zaps Germs Lurking On Sponges

[Guest guest]

An Alternative View about this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6293735.stm

Rodney.

>

>

> Wednesday, January 24, 2007; Page A02

>

> Here's some good news for everyone who worries about germs: Zapping

that

> soggy kitchen sponge in the microwave for a couple of minutes can

pretty

> much sterilize it.

>

> " Microwave irradiation is a cost-effective, practical, fast, easy,

and safe

> method of disinfecting household . . . items, " according to a study

> published recently in the Journal of Environmental Health.

>

> For the study, Bitton of the University of Florida and his

> colleagues contaminated kitchen sponges and scrubbing pads with a

variety of

> bugs including E. coli, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial

spores.

> The researchers then zapped the objects in a standard household

microwave

> oven for various times and tested them to see how long it took to

kill

> different organisms.

>

> While it took four to 10 minutes of microwaving to kill everything,

most of

> the organisms were dead after just two, the researchers reported.

>

> As many as 80 million Americans contract food-borne illnesses each

year, and

> about 9,000 of them die. Kitchen contamination is common. Microbes

on raw

> meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables can easily transfer to sinks,

> countertops, cutting boards and other objects. And wet sponges can

be

> particularly prone to picking up pathogens.

>

> The study shows that the microwave can be a simple, inexpensive and

> effective solution, the researchers said.

>

> " Consumers . . . can use microwave ovens to significantly reduce

microbial

> pathogens in the home environment, " they wrote.

>

> -- Rob Stein

>

[Guest guest]

At 04:49 PM 1/24/2007, you wrote:

An Alternative View about this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6293735.stm

Rodney.

Yes. Wet sponges.

After only a minute's nuking last night, I had to throw out a stinkin',

well-done dry one.

Maco

>

>

> Wednesday, January 24, 2007; Page A02

>

> Here's some good news for everyone who worries about germs: Zapping

that

> soggy kitchen sponge in the microwave for a couple of minutes can

pretty

> much sterilize it.

>

> " Microwave irradiation is a cost-effective, practical, fast,

easy,

and safe

> method of disinfecting household . . . items, " according to a

study

> published recently in the Journal of Environmental Health.

>

> For the study, Bitton of the University of Florida and

his

> colleagues contaminated kitchen sponges and scrubbing pads with a

variety of

> bugs including E. coli, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial

spores.

> The researchers then zapped the objects in a standard household

microwave

> oven for various times and tested them to see how long it took to

kill

> different organisms.

>

> While it took four to 10 minutes of microwaving to kill everything,

most of

> the organisms were dead after just two, the researchers

reported.

>

> As many as 80 million Americans contract food-borne illnesses each

year, and

> about 9,000 of them die. Kitchen contamination is common. Microbes

on raw

> meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables can easily transfer to

sinks,

> countertops, cutting boards and other objects. And wet sponges can

be

> particularly prone to picking up pathogens.

>

> The study shows that the microwave can be a simple, inexpensive

and

> effective solution, the researchers said.

>

> " Consumers . . . can use microwave ovens to significantly

reduce

microbial

> pathogens in the home environment, " they wrote.

>

> -- Rob Stein

>

[Guest guest]

Apparently I'm not the only goofball with a nasty-smelling ex-sponge . .

.. .

http://tinyurl.com/2tb9zb

Maco

At 04:56 AM 1/25/2007, you wrote:

At 04:49 PM 1/24/2007, you

wrote:

An Alternative View about this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6293735.stm

Rodney.

Yes. Wet sponges.

After only a minute's nuking last night, I had to throw out a stinkin',

well-done dry one.

Maco

[Guest guest]

I've been microwaving sponges from time to time for years. Never had

a problem. They should be very wet, which, to be honest, seemed

rather obvious.

Fadden