Bin sponges EVERY WEEK to beat germs, say scientists
IT’S a debate that’s raged in kitchens all over the land – just how long should you keep a washing-up sponge before throwing it away? While some householders hang on theirs until they’re tatty, smelly brown lumps, others keep them fastidiously clean and bin them at the first signs of ingrained grubbiness. Now scientists are urging us to replace them weekly after research showed just how easily they can become a breeding ground for germs.
The study found that a well-used kitchen sponge can be home to nearly five trillion bugs and is dirtier than toilet waste.
It also showed that microwaving or boiling does little to kill off bacteria and can lead to more germs taking hold.
Professor Markus Egert, a microbiologist at Furtwangen University in Germany, who led the study, said some bacteria his team found could harm children and the old. He said: ‘Kitchen sponges are hotspots of microbial life, because they have a very large surface area, are usually wet and stored in a warm kitchen environment. Dirt and food residue provides nutrients for bacteria, too.
‘A cubic centimetre of sponge tissue contains seven to eight times more bacteria than there are human beings living on the Earth.
‘So instead of keeping your “dirty old friend” for too long, you should regularly replace it, in particular if you have ill or elderly people at home.’