GAINESVILLE, Fla., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Microwaving kitchen sponges and plastic scrubbers sterilizes them rapidly and effectively from bacteria and viruses, says a University of Florida researcher.
"Basically what we find is that we could knock out most bacteria in two minutes," said study co-author Gabriel Bitton. "People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave."
Bitton, Richard Melker and Dong Kyoo Park say the more than 90 percent of Americans with microwaves in their kitchens have a powerful weapon against E. coli, salmonella and other food-borne pathogens.
Home kitchens are a common source of contamination, as pathogens from uncooked eggs, meat and vegetables find their way onto countertops, utensils and cleaning tools, according to Britton.
Two minutes of microwaving on full power mode killed or inactivated more than 99 percent of all the living pathogens in the sponges and pads, although the Bacillus cereus spores required four minutes for total inactivation, according to the study published in the Journal of Environmental Health.
People should microwave their sponges according to how often they cook, with every other day being a good rule of thumb, suggests Bitton.
