Smelly Sponge? Microwave It!

Will this work with my underwear at the truckstop 7-Eleven? I'm in a rush.

It's not so much clean as it is dead. The bacteria that cause the bad smell died in the microwave, so in that sense it doesn't smell, but their corpses are still lodged in the sponge, so it's not really clean.

Will this work for my cervical sponges?

lol

Every tried using soap?

And how does the microwave smell now?

From WebMD:

In the study, published in the Journal of Environmental Health, researchers evaluated the effects of zapping sponges and plastic scrubbing pads in the microwave on bacteria and viruses.

The sponges and scrubbing pads were soaked in wastewater containing a dangerous mix of fecal bacteria, E. coli, and bacterial spores. Bacterial spores are more difficult to kill.

The results showed that two minutes in the microwave at full power killed or inactivated more than 99% of all the living germs and the bacterial spores in the sponges and pads, including E. coli.

After an additional two minutes -- a total of four -- none of the bacterial spores survived.

Before you zap your sponges in the microwave, researchers offer the following advice:

Microwave only sponges or plastic scrubbers that do not contain steel or other metals.
Make sure the sponge or scrubber is wet, not dry.
Two minutes should be enough to kill most disease-causing germs.
Be careful in removing the sponge from the microwave because it will be hot and should not be handled immediately after zapping.

Bitton recommends that people microwave their sponges according to how often they cook, with every other day being a good rule of thumb.

I've done this. The microwave doesn't smell at all, and neither does the sponge. It's an almost new sponge.

If "clean" isn't well defined, how's "reduced biological activity"?

BTW, U of Florida scientists nuked a damp sponge for 2 minutes.

However, I find that giving the sponge a killer squeeze so that it dries well on its own keeps a non-smelly sponge non-smelly for a longer time compared to not squeezing it.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070423120145.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16756662/ns/health-infectious_diseases/

That is also an excellent way to clean your microwave as well. Wet the sponge, nuke it, and then use it to scrub your microwave (with gloves, it'll be hot). you'll find that all that gunk on your microwave comes right off after doing this.

@Pumperknickle... Isn't the whole point of cleaning something killing the bacteria and viruses? You're not really wiping them away with a Lysol wipe, you're killing them.

I heard about this from a neighbor and it works rather nicely. Instead if throwing away a spong just when it's gotten too stinky/dirty, I can throw it away when it's too worn to use anymore. I don't remember the last time I bought a pack of sponges.

If your drink is warm. Add some ice.

Feel free to repost that or blog about this amazing discovery of mine.
Thnx

I've done this. The microwave DOES SMELL and so does the house.

@Frau

LOL

Or, dip the sponge in water with bleach. Then rinse the sponge. Good old sodium hypochlorite.

I put a bowl of water with dish detergent and bleach in it in the microwave and nuke it for about three minutes. Leave the door closed for a couple of more minutes. The water soaks in and softens anything dried in the microwave, the dish detergent cuts the grease and the bleach removes any stains and zaps the bacteria.

If you do it right, you can wipe it clean with just a paper towel.

Warning: the microwave surfaces will be HOT! Use a heavy duty cleaning glove or silicon oven glove while wiping the microwave clean.

scottdaris, yes, all you have to do is rinse out your underwear and nuke until dry. Do not overcook. No one wants that smell to linger.

I've always just run them through the dishwasher on the top rack. Seems to do the trick.

Am I the only one who just tosses them in the washer with the rest of the kitchen rags? I just wash them on hot and then dry them in the dryer.

I've found the only way to really get a sponge clean, is to throw the dirty one out and open up a new pack.

@Frau, LOL.

@pianoarthur, well then you're doing it wrong. =) Sponges get funky b/c you don't rinse them out sufficiently before putting them in the drainer to fully dry.

People (don't know if that's you or not) who leave sponges in the sink all the time and soggy all the time are begging for bacteria to grow unchecked. Ick.

I microwave mine 3 min on high, after rinsing it and leaving it mostly moist. Adding bleach is gilding the lily. I understand running them through the dishwasher works really well too.

A CAVEAT COURTESY OF MY FRIEND:

Do not do this with makeup sponges. Even wet, they apparently become too hot, and will fill up your entire house with burnt rubber smoke. For hours. I still tease her about it to this day.

Note the paranoid "Wikimommy" source. Worrying about dirty dish sponges is total bullshit.

Human beings are surrounded/covered/internally infested with billions of bacteria all day long. Mediating those bacterial colonies is our immune system's job...And the immune system needs to be used and fight bacterial colonization to become strong.

Unless you have an immune system disease like HIV or are taking immunodepressive drugs for organ transplants...You really don't need to worry about dirty dish sponges.

@Craig - the issue here is "smelly." Yes, the smell is due to bacteria - and yes, if you're okay with it, go right ahead and use smelly dish sponges ;)

@Craig, there have been a number of recorded cases of food poisoning resulting from the reuse of improperly cleaned sponges (cloths are more likely to be washed and dried, reducing the chance of bacterial growth). So, while it may not kill you, it can make you very sick.

Be careful microwaving plastics, they leach toxins. I won't be microwaving any sponges.