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Martha and the Microwave
Well, Martha...you better get out that microwave!
My old literary agent used to call me the middle class Martha Stewart with a microwave. I guess years ago Martha may have poo poo-ed the use of microwaves. I, of course, have embraced them. I'm for anything that makes cooking easier for the average home chef.
I thought of Martha while reading about how the microwave kills more germs (including the infamous E. coli) in sponges and scrubbing pads because it is able to get to higher temperatures. Two minutes on full power in the zapper is all it took to decontaminate them.
I'm very germ phobic (the curse of knowing too much) so you won't even find a sponge to save your life in my kitchen. I use a plastic brush only when absolutely necessary and I clean my counter tops with an antibacterial cleaner and a paper or cloth towel. I know, I know, I'm using up paper towels but believe you me, I recycle just about everything possible in my kitchen so I should get a couple extra points for that.
If you are a sponge person, keep this in mind before you start zapping them in the microwave:
* Make sure your sponges or scrubbers do not contain steel or other metals
* The sponge or scrubber should be a little wet (it's the hot water within the sponge that helps kill the germs)
* Be extra careful when you take the sponge or scrubber out of the microwave because if it's hot enough to kill 99% of germs, it's going to be hot enough to burn you. Handle it carefully!
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Protecting Your Family From e.Coli, Germs in the Kitchen
Technorati Tags: kitchen, germs, cleaning, sponges
My old literary agent used to call me the middle class Martha Stewart with a microwave. I guess years ago Martha may have poo poo-ed the use of microwaves. I, of course, have embraced them. I'm for anything that makes cooking easier for the average home chef.
I thought of Martha while reading about how the microwave kills more germs (including the infamous E. coli) in sponges and scrubbing pads because it is able to get to higher temperatures. Two minutes on full power in the zapper is all it took to decontaminate them.
I'm very germ phobic (the curse of knowing too much) so you won't even find a sponge to save your life in my kitchen. I use a plastic brush only when absolutely necessary and I clean my counter tops with an antibacterial cleaner and a paper or cloth towel. I know, I know, I'm using up paper towels but believe you me, I recycle just about everything possible in my kitchen so I should get a couple extra points for that.
If you are a sponge person, keep this in mind before you start zapping them in the microwave:
* Make sure your sponges or scrubbers do not contain steel or other metals
* The sponge or scrubber should be a little wet (it's the hot water within the sponge that helps kill the germs)
* Be extra careful when you take the sponge or scrubber out of the microwave because if it's hot enough to kill 99% of germs, it's going to be hot enough to burn you. Handle it carefully!
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Protecting Your Family From e.Coli, Germs in the Kitchen
Technorati Tags: kitchen, germs, cleaning, sponges
8 Comments:
What do you use to wash dishes? I read your views on a sponge & have seen some in other people's kitchens that I wouldn't even want to touch - much less wash dishes with them! What is the least "germy" way to hand wash dishes?
I personally use one of those nylon type fiber brushes. They seem to repel
gunk and when they get the least bit yucky, they can be put into the
dishwasher or cleaned under really hot water.
Soaking goes a long way too. If you soak potentially messy dishes, it takes
a lot of the work away from brushes and sponges.
Pampered Chef sells a little plastic scraper thing with their stoneware to scrape off the food. It is similar to a credit card and works wonders on many foods.
I also think the little round brush by OXO that holds soap is great. It fits in the palm of your hand, holds up great in the dishwasher and has lasted much longer than any other brush I have bought.
I just use a CLOTH towel to wash my dishes.....IF I wash them by hand!!! And I'd like to ask Elaine whether she thinks THIS a 'good' germ-free way to clean dishes???
Enid
What if you always put antibacterial soap in one of those sponges with a handle for the detergent? Doesn't that take care of the bacteria?
B.F.
I don't think you should use antibacterial anything. The proliferation of these types of cleansers (in my opinion) is what has created what we now know as the superbugs. Like MRSA and some flu strains (to name a couple), these are types of bacteria that mutate and become more resistant to antibiotics. I believe in the use of good old regular soap and water. This is what our grandparents used to use and they never heard of MRSA, AIDS and superbugs. Every time you use an antibacterial soap or cleanser to wash your hands or clean your countertops, it's going down the drain into the septic tank or the city drainage system. Guess where a lot of the bacteria live? That's right, they live in the septic and the city drainage systems. and they are growing, adapting, and mutating in an environment plentiful of antibacterial agents. The bacteria that doesn't die, grow and adapt (mutate) to be able to live in their environment. As usual mankind is creating more problems for itself.
Nuking the kitchen sponge? I think that's a very good idea.
Can Ms. Magee please answer my question.....as to whether getting a CLEAN CLOTH dish towel to wash dishes is an 'alright' method of washing dishes (then nuking the DISH TOWEL to get IT 'sanitized')??? Thanks!!!
Anonymous above,
Elaine sometimes stops by to respond to comments but as a general rule answers questions on her message board.
The article linked in Elaine's post has some information on microwaving sponges, but not dishcloths.
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