Posted on 01/25/2007 6:18:32 AM PST by presidio9
Reports about a study that found microwave ovens can be used to sterilize kitchen sponges sent people hurrying to test the idea this week -- with sometimes disastrous results.
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A team at the University of Florida found that two minutes in the microwave at full power could kill a range of bacteria, viruses and parasites on kitchen sponges.
They described how they soaked the sponges in wastewater and then zapped them. But several experimenters evidently left out the crucial step of wetting the sponge.
"Just wanted you to know that your article on microwaving sponges and scrubbers aroused my interest. However, when I put my sponge/scrubber into the microwave, it caught fire, smoked up the house, ruined my microwave, and pissed me off," one correspondent wrote in an e-mail to Reuters.
"First, the sponge is worthless afterwards so you have to throw it out instead of using it. And second your entire house stinks like a burning tire for several hours, even with windows/doors open," complained another.
Aaron Hoover, a press officer at the University of Florida, said several other news organizations received similar complaints, although no one had complained directly to the university.
"We figured, 'wow, we better let people know right away that the sponge should be wet,"' Hoover said in a telephone interview.
The university issued the following advisory: "To guard against the risk of fire, people who wish to sterilize their sponges at home must ensure the sponge is completely wet. Two minutes of microwaving is sufficient for most sterilization. Sponges should also have no metallic content. Last, people should be careful when removing the sponge from the microwave as it will be hot."
I sure hope that no one tries this with Brillo pads.
..and the usual suspects.
Hey!
Aren't I the one to give people bad ideas?
U bad. BAD!
I'm gonna do that.
After I get a bright white flash and a loud report from inside the microwave, I shall examine what is left of my microwave and relay the findings.
Ahh, the Stella Liebeck syndrome.
For the record, I posted the KFed pic before I saw the Britney pic above mine. I'd hate to be accused of theft of intellectual property. Especially where those two are concerned.
I wash mine in the dishwasher too, but this article said that didn't get all the contaminants. Microwaving them got over 99% of all the bacteria, I think.
Sponges are dirt cheap....why not just throw them away after use and replace them?
I don't care how skanky Britney gets. I'm still willing to take posession on a trial basis. Though, at this point, I'd certianly insist on wearing a raincoat.
Give me your address...you're getting a bill for a new keyboard. My employer does not reimburse me for keyboards damaged by spewed coffee.
BTW, I'm still cracking up over the thought of that "flash and loud report". A page from the "Jackass" files.
Oh dear, I've claimed another keyboard.
At least it wasn't the monitor this time.
Sorry about that.
I myself have a spill-proof keyboard.
I have tested it, and I can pour my whole thermos into it without shorting it out.
My screen, however, is still vulnerable.
I admit to having been a 13B, so bright flashes and loud noises have a bit of a magnetic effect on me.
IIRC, I was a 14B (ADA-SHORAD), back in the days of the composite Vulcan & Chaparral batteries. I did stints as a platoon leader in both systems. Being a platoon leader was the most rewarding job I had in the military.
Not that Battery Commander or Battalion S-4 were bad jobs, either.
I was only lowly enlisted, but I did love doing fre missions with the M119A1 light towed 105mm.
Only time I or the crew I was with were happy was when we were doing live fire.
(We were chastised for starting "a" brush fire. Our next four rounds put it out. Nice, clean sterile ground I may add.)
We are taught in public school that the microwave oven works by causing water molecules to spin and gyrate. If there is no water in the microwave oven, the heating effect will be unpredictable and undependable. I assume they teach this in public school. They do teach this don't they?
Umm... not really.
These days it is not so much the factuality of the information, but how the student feels about it.
To be completely accurate about what they say about microwaves and water, they say that the microwaves 'excite' the water molecules.
*Sigh*
The jokes about fetishist water abounded in class.
LOL! Perfect.
And accurate. I soaked the sponge and it nuked just fine. Of course I have a college degree....
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