What can be harmful sponge for washing dishes
'14.10.2018'
Source: Rambler
Many believe that the lavatory is the dirtiest place in our homes. However, modern scientists deny this opinion: They call a dishwashing sponge a real breeding ground for all kinds of pathogenic bacteria: there are more bacteria in 456 times than under a toilet bowl rim.
The dirtiest place in the apartment
American scientists from the University of Drexel checked 100 kitchens located in different houses, writes Rambler. As a result of the study, experts found on the surfaces of kitchen utensils and furniture items a wide variety of microorganisms, including salmonella and staphylococcus.
Scientists have found the most pathogenic bacteria in refrigerators, namely in the compartments for storing vegetables and fruits. If you believe the publication of The Daily Mail, then the number of bacilli that live in one fridge, on average, is higher than the norm 750 times.
Shells and cutting boards also do not shine clean. So TODAY magazine reports that one kitchen sink can often be dirtier than the entire bathroom. A drain pipe sometimes contains about 500 thousands of bacteria per square inch. Chopping boards, knives and graters, too, the exam piled up.
Scientists from the University of Georgia, who studied these subjects, found that the bacilli on them spread and multiply almost instantly. Got to the disgraced list and scouring sponges. According to "Reader's Digest" on the sponge sponge in 456 times more bacteria than under the rim of the toilet.
Sponge incubator for bacteria
Experts from the University of Arizona investigated the sponges for washing dishes and found that only 6 square centimeters of the sponge swarm approximately 10 millions of various bacilli. Moreover, according to the findings of scientists, Campylobacter lives in huge numbers on the lips - a bacterium that causes acute infectious diseases characterized by intoxication and damage to the gastrointestinal tract.
And the German scientists, who took up a similar study, got even less encouraging results. The object of their study were sponges of foam rubber, which are most common among housewives.
On one cubic centimeter of such a sponge, German specialists found at least 20 billions of microorganisms, among them not only Salmonella and E. coli, but also the bacteria that cause meningitis and pneumonia.
Of course, a person does not always get all these infections. But, according to Amy Edwards, an infectious disease surgeon from the University of Cleveland, if a person's immunity is reduced, for example, due to chemotherapy, then the likelihood of the disease is very high. In addition, children and teenagers are also susceptible to infection.
How to protect yourself?
In order to protect themselves and their loved ones, some housewives use various methods to disinfect sponges, for example, heat them in a microwave oven. According to the observations of experts after being in the microwave oven from the surface of the sponges 99,9% of pathogenic bacteria really disappears. But only from the surface.
According to all the same German scientists, the bacteria live and multiply not so much on the surface as in the pores of foam rubber, and therefore this cleaning is not effective.
Experts from Germany found that when heated (or even boiled) inside the sponges, the number of bacilli only increases. Scientists attribute this fact to the fact that pathogens are more enduring than harmless. Therefore, experts recommend not to engage in ineffective disinfection, but simply change sponges more often. Since scientists have mainly studied sponges after their weekly use, experts advise getting a new sponge at least once in 7 days.
