Niall

I may be wrong, but if something can't be battered and deep fried, most glaswegians won't admit that it is food.

I must agree with bux.. in general using antibacterial stuff must be pretty bad.. especially when you consider all the good things bacteria do... like food digestion; as long as theres no raw meat to food to be eaten raw everything should be fine. But as for sponges, I just rinse them out with hot water after each use; and after about two to three weeks just put them in the bin. And I doubt that putting them in the dishwasher does them any harm..

Now at 45... with 4357 votes.. thats an average of 4.92.... that has to be one of the highest average scores!!! Even the mighty number one has a paltry 4.31 average.

I think Lily has it so far.... unless microwaving baked beans and eggs together in a bowl and sticking it between two pieces of toast is worse... Sometimes I even add bits of ham and onion for a gourmet treat! Cold sausage and tomato sauce is another nice one. But I have never sunk as low as Coffee bags.... yuck. And Decaf. No offence meant lily, but to me that sounds as useful as caffeine free diet coke... no taste, no caffeine! The worst I have ever seen though is a friend who eats strawberry jam and processed cheese slice sandwiches.. yes together...

When I've got difficult stuff to clean I use fine steel wool pads that are called "Brillo" in the UK and Steelo in Oz. The wool is pretty fine, and is good on steel & cast Iron, but should not be used on non-stick or enamel. I don't have any aluminium pots so I don't know about that. Can't find a product website though..

Have you tried: F&L Gourmet in Macquarie Centre in Sydney. Spice it Up in Melbourne's suburbs (can't quite remember where) If you like Asam Laksa try Toh's in North Sydney All are pretty good and rated by my Malay Chinese friends.