Seek Out And Sanitize Hidden Kitchen Microbes

Where do you think the dirtiest, most germ filled area of your home is?

Most people would think it was around your bathroom and toilet area but this not the case.  This is probably the area we pay most attention to in this respect but the really danger is right i the heart of the the home where we prepare food and eat.

No, the favourite place for microbes to live in your home is in the kitchen. Your dishcloth that you use to wash crockery and cutlery and to wipe down surfaces is a perfect place for all kind of nasties to live.  There are probably more potential killers hiding in your dishcloth than their are anywhere else in your house.

It is a perfect environment for this pretty looking E-coli to live. This is just one of the potential killers in your kitchen sink and you feed food scraps daily, wipe it across surface and keep it warm.  This is bacteria heaven.

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Salmonella, E-Coli, campylobacter, clostridium perfringens, and staphylococcus live quite happily in your dishcloth (or sponge). Washing the cloth won’t get rid of them all and each time you use it you provide a bit more for the bacteria to live on. Bits of food, grease, soil from vegetables, places where flies have walked, all provide a right royal feast for bacteria.

Salmonella and E-Coli can cause food poisoning and stomach upsets, while clostridium causes abdominal pain and flu like symptoms as it takes hold. Staphylococcus invades the body and can cause a number of different diseases. So, any of these bacteria can cause serious illness and in some cases death.

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People have been sanitising their kitchen sponges and dishcloths in the dishwasher for years but this is not very effective at killing all those harmful bacteria, spores of various kinds, and viruses.

If you wet your dishcloth (or sponge) and cook it for two minutes at full power in your microwave you will kill 99% of these nasties and what’s more, your cloth smells nice and fresh.

This method also sterilises face cloths after washing them.

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Wet your toothbrush and heat it on high in the microwave for fifteen seconds to kill anything that might be lurking in it.

There is a patent registered in US which covers a microwave dryer which does exactly the same thing as described here but in a special unit. It will be interesting to see if people can be persuaded to buy one of these if it ever gets into production.

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The method described above does work but always remember to put wet fabrics, sponges, toothbrushes, etc into the microwave as dry ones are a fire hazard, and don’t leave it unattended.