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Washing sponges in dishwasher no good

Human Bean

By Human Bean
in Kitchen Consumer

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Mottmott

Mottmott

Posted
Posted

Y'all must be using more upscale sponges than I do.

Cheap, colorful supermarket sponges cause less care: use them on dishes awhile, transfer to floor duty, then toss them.

"Half of cooking is thinking about cooking." ---Michael Roberts

Bux

Bux

Posted
Posted

Jim Dixon, I seem to recall that the article mentioned allergies as a result of compulsive cleanliness in child raising, but don't quote me on this. As far as cleaning the floor and a plate with the same sponge--as long as someone has seen me do it and had time to count to three while I was cleaning the floor, I'd never used the sponge for dishes again (until I've washed it).

Human Bean, moderation is the key. Just don't eat too many sponges.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

  • 3 weeks later...
Sabra_1

Sabra_1

Posted
Posted

I never use sponges, I buy a huge roll of muslin and use that then bleach at the end of the day, I find it is far more effective, but I guess it is personal, I find sponges start to get smelly and slimy.

:biggrin:

Smarmotron

Smarmotron

Posted
Posted
Y'all must be using more upscale sponges than I do. 

Cheap, colorful supermarket sponges cause less care:  use them on dishes awhile, transfer to floor duty, then toss them.

Haha!!! Exact same with me!!!!! use the sponge on dishes for a week maybe. then it gets the floor and bathrooms for a week or two. by then it's a ragged mass of crap, and it goes into the trash!!!

malarkey

malarkey

Posted
Posted
I'm not as keen on Cook's Ill as I once was; (snip)

At least they're an alternative to the glossy food-porn mags; maybe they're smug about that too.

yeah, and while I'll admit to reading Cook's Ill a few times, the glossy food-porn stuff always wins me over.

Born Free, Now Expensive

  • 3 months later...
Fat Guy

Fat Guy

Posted
Posted

If you look in the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated, in the front section, you will find a retraction of the microwave recommendation.

Thank you very much.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

indiagirl

indiagirl

Posted
Posted

The scourge of the 21st century - The ability to count bacteria.

My problem with Cook's Illustrated - the dry, science experiment attitude to food makes me not trust their palates. Entirely unreasonable, I know, but I'm stuck with the feeling.

Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted

indiagirl, I just can't take Cook's Ill seriously.

First of all, the foods they seem interested in don't interest me. As well, the palate they seem to be cooking for doesn't interest me.

The "taste comparison tests" I have seen on television and in their magazine seem to almost always result in the beatification of a major American brand over imports and over lesser American brands.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

tajanna

tajanna

Posted
Posted

Ah, but we are forgetting about the 'new' sponges we buy. Where has it been, whose hands have left their contaminants on it? It's a nasty, germ ridden world out there. Watch Out! Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they are not after you.

Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted

IrishCream, Alton Brown is funny. CI is... funny.

Brining is good.

What's a DH?

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

LEdlund

LEdlund

Posted
Posted
If you look in the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated, in the front section, you will find a retraction of the microwave recommendation.

But isn't that because readers reported they caught on fire, not because it didn't kill bacteria?

Practice Random Acts of Toasting

Jinmyo

Jinmyo

Posted
Posted
If you look in the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated, in the front section, you will find a retraction of the microwave recommendation.

But isn't that because readers reported they caught on fire, not because it didn't kill bacteria?

Well, if they caught on fire, how did they report the results?

Welcome to eGullet by the way, LEdlund.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

fifi

fifi

Posted
Posted

Having been a foods microbiologist many moons ago, I long since decided that sponges are gross. I don't use them. I find that a Handi-Wipe (or my new favorite, the 3M microfiber dish rag) is good for one kind of cleaning, a 3M scrubber (green thing) with no sponge attached, and one of those plastic mesh Tuffy type scrubbers will take care of any kind of stuck on stuff I may come across. The key thing is that all of those dry pretty quickly and can go in the dishwasher.

My re-read of the CI response about nuking sponges is that the concern is both effectiveness and ignition. They still say microwaving is the most effective but given that it is unpredictable as to potential for combustion, they now recommend boiling them!!! RIIIIIIIGHT! Like I am really going to boil a sponge. How often? It only takes a few hours for bacteria to multiply to very high numbers. Does that mean you boil them every few hours? I don't think so. Boiling them, dishwashing them, whatever, once a week is pointless. It is easier just to get rid of the damn things.

I have seen some that seem to have some anti-bacterial chemical incorporated into the sponge material. I am opposed to that also since it kind of creeps me out and most scientists say that our over use of the material (Triclosan I believe) is not a good thing... leading to mutants and all.

Has anyone seen any updated real data on the plastic versus wood cutting board issue. (I am in the wood camp.)

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

Elissa

Elissa

Posted
Posted

i'druther drink sponge water than anything from a microwave. ew

Drinking when we are not thirsty and making love at all seasons: That is all there is to distinguish us from the other Animals.

-Beaumarchais

Elissa

Elissa

Posted
Posted
Ah, but we are forgetting about the 'new' sponges we buy.

how do new sponges stay so soft in their supermarket plastics? the two left over in a package of three are never as soft again... :huh:

Drinking when we are not thirsty and making love at all seasons: That is all there is to distinguish us from the other Animals.

-Beaumarchais

Fat Guy

Fat Guy

Posted
Posted
If you look in the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated, in the front section, you will find a retraction of the microwave recommendation.

But isn't that because readers reported they caught on fire, not because it didn't kill bacteria?

I bet we could skip the microwave step altogether if we just lit our sponges with a match. That'd show those bacteria.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

indiagirl

indiagirl

Posted
Posted (edited)

:laugh::laugh:

The other thing - if I was *so* careful with the whole bacteria thing, I would never be able to travel home to India again.

As it is they call bottled water - Tourist Water (no, really) - they even have a brand called Tourist Water. I was teased mercilessly the first time I went back and my parents insisted I drink nothing else. That stopped immediately.

Edited by indiagirl (log)
elyse

elyse

Posted
Posted

I hate to ask this, but don't bacteria etc need a moist environment to survive and thrive? I mean, does anyone have a habit of sucking on their sponges, or is it dry dishes we're talking about? If they're dry, aren't they somewhat evil bacteria free? Grain of salt, please.

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