Let’s be honest, how often to swap his sponge? If the answer is “every two weeks”, or even rare, you should urgently change.

Sponges need to be changed according to the experts, at least every week.

This naturally produces a lot of garbage. Therefore, it is better, instead of the classic sponges and cotton cloths that can be washed after each use at 90° C, or Mikrokasertücher that can be washed at 40° C, back to access.

Sponges are sites ideal bacteria breeding

In dishwashing sponges lot of germs hang out – more precisely, 362 different species of bacteria proliferate in the sponges in the kitchen.

A study of the Hochschule Furtwangen University, the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen and the Helmholtz centre in Munich resulted in.

The yellow Spülhelfer mainly consist of foam. Through the pores, they have a huge surface area, the bacteria strains is an ideal breeding place offers.

Some of the bacteria density was more than 5 times 10 to the power of 10 cells per cubic centimeter. “The concentrations found only in the Faeces,” explains study leader Markus Egert.

These types of bacteria frolicking in the wiping cloth

Half of the most common types of bacteria according to Egert to the so-called “risk group 2”. This means that you are potentially pathogenic.

Especially in the case of a weakened immune system, the risk of infection is high. Above all, the environment and water, the bacteria could be detected. But also bacteria, which are typical for human skin, multiply sponges in the Kitchen.

A small clear but there are also: fecal Bacteria and diarrheal pathogens were detected only barely. A weak consolation.

Can you clean the sponges?

Each week, a new sponge, it produces a lot of garbage and pollutes the environment. The sponges, therefore, in the microwave abzukoche or ash regularly to wash out, but it is not a good idea.

Because the bacteria number is decreasing, although only the pathogens multiply then, but even faster. This could be due to a higher tolerance to stress, the researchers suggest.

Unused kitchen is not full of bacteria are sponges on the other hand, therefore, the hygiene researchers recommend that sponges replace every week, and store them after use, dry.

Source

• Egert, M. et al. (2017): Microbiome analysis and confocal microscopy of used kitchen sponges reveal massive colonization by Acinetobacter, Moraxella and Chryseobacterium species, accessed on 03.03.2020: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-06055-9

Annika Big Krüger

*The contribution of “seed extractors in the kitchen: How often should I be published sponges will exchange” of FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.