Reports about a study that found microwave ovens can be used to sterilize kitchen sponges sent people hurrying to test the idea this week — with sometimes disastrous results.
A team at the University of Florida found that two minutes in the microwave at full power could kill a range of bacteria, viruses and parasites on kitchen sponges.
They described how they soaked the sponges in wastewater and then zapped them. But several experimenters evidently left out the crucial step of wetting the sponge.
For sure. When I saw this “household hint” on the local TV news, the other day, they left out the crucial step.
“Just wanted you to know that your article on microwaving sponges and scrubbers aroused my interest. However, when I put my sponge/scrubber into the microwave, it caught fire, smoked up the house, ruined my microwave, and pissed me off,” one correspondent wrote in an e-mail to Reuters.
Rather than leave instructions out, Isn’t this a case of people leaving their own common sense out when using a microwave?
To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, “People are stupid things.”
Wouldn’t the water in a moist sponge boil and then cause the sponge to burn (or melt) too?
That is the point Miguel. The heated water sterilizes the sponge. With no water in the sponge only the sponge itself is heated causing a fire. QED.
Hmmm…. not sure we’re to the heart of it yet. Microwave ovens work at a frequency selected to excite water molecules (fat is also excited at these frequencies I think…) If the sponge is wet, it certainly will heat up thanks to the water. If it’s dry, it should only heat up if it contains materials susceptible to the same frequencies- which is possible, but surprising (at least to me.)
If it’s dry, it should only heat up if it contains materials susceptible to the same frequencies- which is possible, but surprising (at least to me.)
It depends entirely on what the sponge is made of. I have no idea about natural sponges, but those are pretty rare. A lot of plastics readily absorb microwaves, though, and I imagine that’s what most sponges are made of. Depends on the type of plastic, certainly. Polypropylene (tupperware, milk jugs, grocery bags) usually is ok (depending on the admixtures added during manufacture). Nylon and PVC, however, readly heat up in a microwave and WILL burn. I used to stick PVC in the microwave briefly to heat it up in order to bend it. You can’t (or shouldn’t) use PVC to support radio transmitter antennas for the same reason.
Can you spell class action lawsuit?
What morons! It never ceases to amaze just how little the average person knows about common household tools.To 5 and 6 it is the glue that holds the scrubber pad and the sponge together that ignites.
#8
Well Geez… I do know enough not to bake my sponge in a microwave. But how much do you think I need to know about the various and sundry appliances found all over my house?
I don’t taunt my auto mechanic because his PC has spyware on it 🙂 Maybe I could catch a break over the fact that I really don’t know how my microwave works?
You just need to make sure there no oxygen can get to the sponge to support combustion. The way to do this is to wrap the sponge in tinfoil before nuking it.
#10, You so funny. You made me snort.
MMMMM baked sponges….. Tasty!
A microwave probably isn’t the best place to sterilize sponges even in a container of water, since you have to watch for boil-over. Putting sponges in a pot of boiling water on the stove, assuming you know your stove, and have a clue as to what temp the eye should be set to achieve a lower than volcanic level of boil might work better. Then again, if 2000 people do this, 3 of them will forget they have the sponges boiling and leave for a trip to Cancun. If your stove is gas it would be far cheaper in energy cost as well. At least before the insurance deductible.
#8
So how is that in contradiction to anything 5 and 6 said?
The report says that they “soaked them in water then zapped them”. That leaves me wondering, how in the hell did they manage to soak the sponge in water without getting it wet? Some one should patent that technique. I don’t know how many times I have been stuck in the rain, being soaked with water. Not getting wet would have been really great.
Red Alert! I smell hot electrical insulation in the kitchen! After hyperventilating, trying to smell where the smell was coming from, I yelled out to my wife, “Something is catching fire!”
She responded, “Oh, I microwaved the sponge like they said on the internet.” There on the counter was this shriveled sponge with brown spots on it — char. Secure from battle stations. I guess I needed the exercise.
i thought microwaving plastics was generally accepted bad thing? how is a foam sponge any different?
The account I read this morning said the U of Florida (I think it was) issued a second release after the hoo-ha started, essentially saying, “Oh, yeah, and do make sure the sponge is wet when you put it in to microwave.” I’m guessing the PR writers responsible for the first press release didn’t realize they needed to be clear about the details, and not just say sponges can be sterilized by nuking them.
What I don’t get is why it was worth a press release at all. You nuke a wet sponge, the water in it steams, and the sponge is sterilized by the steam. That’s like issuing a press release about the study, years ago, that discovered children got injured on tricycles primarily because they sometimes fall off or bump into something.
Guess none of them ever watched The Shawshank Redemption…….
I think you mean “The Green Mile”, not “Shawshank”. But yes, that’s the first thing that popped into my head.
#19 & 20. Totally different.
In the Green Mile the sponge was soaked in salt water to aid in electrical conductivity between the electrodes and the skin. (Medical procedures will use similar acting conducting jelly to reduce the resistance.) Because of the electrical resistance, the sponge and skin heated up and burned. This happens with most electrocutions, not just botched executions.
With the microwavable sponge, the water absorbs microwave energy more readily then does the solid plastics. The lower boiling point of the water and subsequent steam helps reduce the temperature of the plastic as well. Once the water is removed (or not present) the plastic will heat to the deformation point and eventually the ignition point.
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