Few things in the home are more revolting than the old sponge. Part of that problem seems solvable.

University of Florida engineering researchers have found that microwaving kitchen sponges and plastic scrubbers -- known to be common carriers of the bacteria and viruses that cause food-borne illnesses – sterilizes them rapidly and effectively.

That means that the estimated 90-plus percent of Americans with microwaves in their kitchens have a powerful weapon against E. coli, salmonella and other bugs at the root of increasing incidents of potentially deadly food poisoning and other illnesses.

"Basically what we find is that we could knock out most bacteria in two minutes," said Gabriel Bitton, a UF professor of environmental engineering. "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." . . .

The results were unambiguous: 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.

Bitton said the heat, rather than the microwave radiation, likely is what proves fatal to the pathogens. Because the microwave works by exciting water molecules, it is better to microwave wet rather than dry sponges or scrub pads, he said.

"The microwave is a very powerful and an inexpensive tool for sterilization," Bitton said, adding that people should microwave their sponges according to how often they cook, with every other day being a good rule of thumb.

And just for grins, nuke the mail too.

. . . preliminary research also shows that microwaves might be effective against bioterrorism pathogens such as anthrax, used in the deadly, still-unsolved 2001 postal attacks.

Using a dose of Bacillus cereus dried on an envelope as a substitute for mail contaminated by anthrax spores, Bitton said he found he could kill 98 percent of the spores in 10 minutes by microwaving the paper – suggesting, he said, one possible course of action for people who fear mail might be contaminated. However, more research is needed to confirm that this approach works against actual anthrax spores, he said.

This seems better than antibiotics, though I suppose it would create a evolutionary advantage for extremophiles in the same way that antibiotic resistant strains have become more common.

Update: Mom Rules

Got this tip awhile ago from Moms, not sure where she got it? Not only is it good to wet the sponge before 'wavin it, but if you load it up with soap it'll smell nice and have a good lather ready to go for dish-doing.

I expect to hear soon that Mom's spit really does kill groties on owies, and that her kisses ease pain.

» Spongy Disease from University Update
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Tracked: January 22, 2007 03:04 PM