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[–] derram 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago 

https://archive.is/LMFue | :

Kitchen sponges are festering germ dens—and sanitizing them doesn’t help | Ars Technica

' But, the work highlights “an amazing bacterial colonization of kitchen sponges” that they hope will “create even more awareness for kitchen sponges as hygienically relevant microbial incubators.”'

'In a comprehensive study of 14 household sponges and their microbial inhabitants published in Scientific Reports, researchers confirmed that kitchen sponges are indeed domestic abominations. '

'Scientists have long thrown shade at the unassuming kitchen sponge. '

'Taking top and bottom samples from 14 household sponges used in Germany, the researchers extracted genetic material to sequence and identify microbial inhabitants. '

'Moreover, any sterilizing attempts only seem to temporarily free up sponge-space for potential pathogens, which rapidly recolonize the festering scrubber. '

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[–] Morbo 0 points 15 points (+15|-0) ago 

And that's why the human race went extinct shortly after kitchen sponges were invented. /s

I'm tired of this fear mongering that makes everything a bogeyman. If your immune system is so weak that a kitchen sponge is your worst health nightmare come true then we're better off without your weak-ass genes in the pool. Humans lived in germ ridden environments for most of history and we are still here. I'm not afraid of a fucking dirty sponge.

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[–] White-Supremacist 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago 

Generally I agree, but there are some diseases that can be transmitted through things like silverwear and glasses that you really don't want to be exposed to, say at a friends house or something.

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[–] Uncle_Slob ago 

Bringo!!

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[–] Jaga 0 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago 

oh, that's why I keep becoming deathly ill when I eat off of my clean dishes

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[–] Jimmycog 1 point 2 points (+3|-1) ago 

Wash them throughly, rinse throughly, fill with water, microwave for 1 minute, let stand several minutes. ( wait until cool ) they are cleaner. If you like fill with water and microwave a second time. ( Remember it will be very hot )

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[–] DayWalker 0 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago 

I read a simple trick to solve smelly sponge syndrome: Prop the sponge on it's side.

Been doing that for years now. The sponge dries out better and never gets smelly and gross.

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[–] Bendeguz 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

Also when you're finished using the sponge squeeze the water out of it then put some dish soap on it and squeeze a couple of times to work the soap through. Now it won't stank the next time you use it.

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[–] rocket_robin_hood 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

According to the article that would just clear out 99% of the bacteria and make room for whatever is resistant and potentially more dangerous. So killing the bacteria that is present is not enough, you would also want to populate it with some benign bacteria to put up a fight so that worse stuff dosent take over, or as the article says, throw the sponge out every week and get a new one.

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[–] ZYX321 0 points 6 points (+6|-0) ago 

Cleaning with soap and water is a mechanical thing. You're making it so that the surfactant action of the soap allows the water to interact with things so as to carry them off. The bacteria survive generally, they are just now somewhere else other than on the dishes. It doesn't really matter how much bacteria are on the sponge.

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[–] Uncle_Slob ago 

It's like those touchless soap dispensers they were peddling. "Your hands have germs and you touch the top, eeeewwwww germs!!" Never fucking mind that you are about to wash your hands with soap and will this clean the germs. Consumers are dumb whores.

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[–] 10019869? 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

The only logical choice is to stop washing our dishes.

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[–] valiumvillage [S] 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

Just let a dog lick them clean. They have antibacterial enzymes in their saliva. Humans do too so if you need help, ill come lick your dishes for you.

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[–] Cat-hax ago 

Meh, I run into more germs during the day then from a damned sponge

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[–] Tancred ago 

"Scientists" are so incredibly lazy nowadays.

I get that it's sometimes hard to get enough people for a study, especially if they need to have some rare disease, but we're talking about kitchen sponges here and they tested only 14.

As a counter example, a scientist, roughly 150 years ago, tested the reaction time of over three thousand people before he published his findings.