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A customer looks at microwave ovens in a
file photo. (Reuters Photo)
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BEIJING, Jan.
25 (Xinhuaent) -- U.S. researchers reported that two minutes in a
microwave can sterilize sponges and dishcloths after use, killing 99 percent of
the harmful bacteria that cause illness, according the media reports Thursday.
"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," said Gabriel Bitton, a professor of
environmental engineering who led the study.
In their study, published this week in the American
Journal of Environmental Health, Bitton and colleagues soaked sponges and
scrubbing pads in raw wastewater containing fecal bacteria such as E. coli,
viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores.
After heating up the sponges in a common household
microwave oven, they found that except the bacterial and Bacillus cereus spores,
which required between four to ten minutes to destroy, everything else was
killed after two minutes.
At least 76 million Americans get sick from foodborne
microbes every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and 5,000 people die from them.
In a house, kitchen is a common source of contamination,
probably 200 times more germ-infested than a lavatory seat, as pathogens from
uncooked eggs, meat and vegetables find their way onto countertops, utensils and
cleaning tools.
Earlier studies have given the evidences of sponges and
dishcloths providing happy home for millions of the pathogens, in part because
they often remain damp, which helps the bugs survive.
(Agencies)
