MONSTER IN YOUR SINK

The Kitchen sponge is 200,000 times dirtier than the toilet seat. That's from the Daily Mail. Actually there's more after that quote that will paralyse you, literally. In my not-so-glamourous business of cleaning, I have had to study dirt just as much as hygiene. Granted, the internet has a lot of BS, but I have found ways to get the juice from reliable sources
that have done the BS elimination for me. So while the Daily Mail may sometimes post sensational articles that stretch the truth a little, you can be sure they've done some research.

Growing up, I've seen us go through a variety of scrubbing tools in our kitchens (home and in both shagz). If it wasn't the standard supa brite and steel wool, it was a jumbled up piece of sisal rope or a stringy mess from a gunia. The scrubber was used until it was either worn out or too slippery to scrub. It reaked of soap scum and last week's leftovers, so we sometimes soaked it in fresh water to bury the smell, which unknown to us were perfect breeding conditions for bacteria. And yet, we survived. Indeed ignorance is bliss. What you don't know won't hurt you, right? Too bad, now you know. This is the Inconvenient Truth that Al Gore should be addressing: There are 10 million unwanted bacteria per square inch on a standard
kitchen sponge.
It is dirtier than your toilet seat and can cause paralysis.
Ok, that's just too much, but here's why: We use the sponge for regular dish washing, to wipe dirty counter tops and even blood from raw meat on our chopping boards. It then becomes a breeding ground for bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella, which multiply over time. So while we might blame uncooked food for food poisoning, it may be fair to consider looking at the state of the trusted kitchen sponge. So how have we survived so far? It's partly in the way we do our dishes.

We scrub food off the dirty dish using the scrubbing pad, unknowingly contaminating the dish with
bacteria, but then we also give the dish a rinse in fresh running tap water, washing away the unwanted bacteria. This is even more effective when washing with hot water. Your risk is instantly minimized. However, if you re-use the scrubbing pad to wipe off a dirty spot from a rinsed plate, then you risk further contamination and, of course, a dirtier toilet.

Yet we can greatly reduce the risk of contamination even further by using effective methods of cleaning the kitchen sponge or scrubbing pad. Place the damp sponge into the microwave and run it for a few seconds. Or you could soak it overnight in a solution of equal parts vinegar and water. Or you could place it in a bowl and cover in methylated spirit for some minutes. Or soak for a couple of hours in a solution of 3 parts water and 1 part Hydrogen Peroxide. This could be done daily or every other day (skip a day). I highly recommend this practice to mothers with bottle feeding babies.

That said, stock your pantry with a pack of scrubbing pads and sponges so that you can change them regularly. My cleaning service always replenishes our client's scrubbing pads. I suggest you have two by your sink; one colour exclusively for dishes and the other for the sink, counter tops and backsplash. My second sponge is always the yellow one. That is the common sense that is not so common. So, how much bacteria do you have on your slimy counter cloth? That's for another post.

Image Sources: Emoji on Thumbnail, microscopy Bacteria image, stacked Kitchen Sponges