When you clean things with a sponge, the sponge will be stained with all kinds of bacteria. The more things we wash with it, the longer we use the sponge, the dirtier it becomes. And soon, the sponge will transfer the bacteria to other objects.
In 2002, a research result was published in the International Journal of food microbiology. Experts carefully studied how bacteria in food were transferred from food to the kitchen and moved around in the kitchen during the cleaning process. Part of this research is about how bacteria move from a sponge to the surface of kitchen objects. Research found that, on average, 1g of liquid will be transferred for every 20cm * 30cm area wiped. However, when detecting the surface of the object that has just been wiped, it was found that Salmonella and E. coli would be transferred from the sponge to other objects in the kitchen.
Another study has detected what items in the home contain more bacteria, and the top ones are drainage pipes (91%), washbasins (87%), and sponges (78%). The detected bacteria include Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus. The test found that the sponge in the bathroom also contained a lot of bacteria. In comparison, the bacteria content of toilet rack and bowl rack is only 1% ~ 2%.
So what can we do? In fact, there are still many sponge cleaning methods, including washing with water, bleaching or throwing directly into the dishwasher. However, the best method is still microwave. Wet the sponge and put it in the microwave oven for 1-2 minutes. 99% of the bacteria hidden on the sponge can be killed.
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