OK - Now that I told you I hope we can talk soon. Are you available tonight? I want to know what you think. Did I give you reason to hate me? Did you except this? Do you care? Am I an idiot? Does this mean we cannot see each other again? If not so, when?

You had me scared there for a minute!

I'm moderately astute -- but I don't get it.

I usually hang on to my kitchen sponge for about a month. I don't own a microwave or a dishwasher so I just rinse it out after each use. I don't think I've been negatively affected by sponge germs as I am a very healthy person who is rarely ill. If I had a washer/dryer I'd probably use a dish towel also.

You had me scared for a minute there, too.

Does it make a difference if one is a veggivore versus a carnivore?

Can you include a like to any studies you are referring to?

Food Nerd, thanks for the comment. Click the "blame the Germans" or "new studies" link for the study.

You know what I wonder in all this. What if you dry the sponge completely? Keep your sponges but let them dry out rock hard, then introduce back for 10 days and let dry out again. Just keep switching sponges. Or what about those scrubby brushes - are they as bad?

I guess this is one of those things that I hear can be bad, but I never see any connection to people actually getting sick from it. Sponges have been so wildly prevalent in so many kitchens for so many years...where's the body count? Are there real dangers causing illness, or have we just become better at identifying bacteria?

Yeah Laura - you know how to get attention (are you an editor also?) I first heard about 'pathogens on sponges' from a broadcast network report (on some other science study). It made perfect sense and the little 'bio-marker' demo using invisible/UV florescent fake-germ-dye was quite simple and telling. Others - you cross-contaminate each time you use a sponge to wipe services.

So - Microwave - heat sensitive pathogens die, others can proliferate. Bleach (I think it breaks down ?) sponges. But microwave/bleach/dryout over a week cycle, then use 2 new sponges per month. That seems 'good enough' for home work.

@ Yah but Never got - "flu symptoms' unsettled stomach? Often people cannot properly self-diagnose a mild case of food poisoning/bacterial contamination! CDC "estimates that each year 48 million people"

Web Link

Thanks Laura

The rather mild pathogens in kitchen sponges serve to strengthen the immune system through exposure.

Wow, esp floating on the airwaves. I arrived at the same conclusion last night. Tired of picking up the sponge and having stinking hands afterwards. Oh dear, what will replace it? Well, for scrubbing, I'm using a long handled brush, one for food plates another general wiping down counters. Can easily rinse them and set up to air dry every time! Minimizing dish cloths as they can also end up smelling bad. Keep on keeping on and thanks.

Laura, Thank you Science Girl! So important what you do as a journalist/blogger to keep us informed! We don't believe you, fine, you provide link. Thank you. Sponge be gone., especially after 1 week. Makes total sense. I love it when responsible journalism happens like this.

A human being uses many of the same " pathogens " in their gut to break down and digest food. Ask your German friends about Blutwurst or even Liverwurst. Even in older times the internal organs were consumed by the hunters that hunted for food for the whole tribe.

The same can also be said about vaccines; It's a direct application of Nietsche quote: That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

Your body is a heat engine and , like Diesel Engines, can consume many different fuels, even contaminated ones. Since my dishwasher uses a sterilization wash cycle ( preheats ALL water that it uses ), I just throw it in the dishwasher.
If you are worried about your " pathogens ", there is a nice autoclave ( used to sterilize reused instruments that are used to fix your insides. I thing that autoclave is still at $100 including shipping at WWW.shopgoodwill.com
Using an autoclave is much like Howard Hugh's mania about germs too.

Good Luck on this latest adventure.

I, too, thought from this blog's title that this was your last blog here. So relieved that that is not so.

Your blogs are always interesting and well-written, and I eagerly look for them each time I go to the Almanac's website.

Looking forward to your next blog!

That first comment from real life?

@biology studies: While it's true that sometimes food or bacteria poisoning mimic flu like symptoms, it seems so do any number of things. Here's a quick list of 45 other options it could be besides a sponge that could cause the same symptoms.
Web Link

I'm still not in a bunch over this. So much meh. I have not been sick in 6 years, though I did get the actual flu when I was sick. I don't get symptoms otherwise. My back can give me trouble though...damn sponge bacteria!

You too eh, Reader?... And that's not the only thing.

Some more scepticism of the original study ...

More at www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/11/548926054/can-you-really-not-clean-your-kitchen-sponge
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The study also looked at only five sponges that people said they "cleaned" regularly �" and study participants did not say whether this cleaning took place in the microwave or in soapy water. "We do not want to make public health recommendations based on five sponges from Germany," Quinlan says.

Instead, families should stick with the same recommendations Quinlan has given for years:

1. Keep the sponge away from raw meat. "If you're dealing with raw juices from meat or poultry, you should be using paper that can be disposed of," Quinlan says.

2. Don't keep sponges around for too long. "I replace mine every one to two weeks," she says. "That's reasonable to me."

3. Clean the sponge every few days. The USDA recommends putting it in the dishwasher with a heated dry cycle, or wetting the sponge and popping it in the microwave for a minute.

Microwaving the sponge will knock down the bacteria living in it by about a million-fold, scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported back in 2009. Of course, this method will leave many still alive since there are billions in the sponge. But the heat targets the dangerous ones, Quinlan says.

"It doesn't sterilize the sponge," she says. "But remember, the bacteria we want to kill are the ones that will make you sick."

In the new study, cleaning apparently boosted the levels of two species. Egert has no idea exactly what these species are, but one is related to bacteria that give your dirty laundry that stinky, musty smell. The other is related to bacteria that, on rare occasions, cause infections in people with suppressed immune systems. Neither of these relatives are known to cause food poisoning.

Dirty sponges indeed. Why this is nothing but hokum, hogwash and poppycock perpetrated by over-assuming rapscallions. In my day we worried about plague! Dirty sponges indeed...yes, everyone bring out your dead in the morning as the sponge dirt ravages through your village. Balderdash!