Washing dishes is an everyday household chore, and for many, it's also perhaps the most hated. What if you found out how many hazardous substances could be on the dishwashing sponge you use to keep your home clean?
It is now a well-known fact that washing dishes by hand requires a lot of tap water, which can have serious consequences when considering sustainability and environmental issues. However, less is said about the fact that you can even harm your own health by washing dishes. In our article, we will show you how much bacteria can hide on sponges and also answer the question of what the solution is against them. Stay tuned!
You wouldn't think you'd be washing dishes with a "bacteria culture"
However, sponges used for traditional hand washing provide the perfect breeding ground for bacteria to grow. In comparison:
“A single dishwashing sponge can harbor more bacteria than there are people on Earth,” points out Trond Moretro , a researcher at the Norwegian food research institute Nofirma.
Why is this possible? According to research, the size and structure of dishwashing sponges are favorable for the adhesion of pathogens, and while using them, we also provide continuous moisture for their reproduction. This combination offers more ideal conditions than many petri dishes specifically designed for the reproduction of bacteria. As a result, a single dishwashing sponge can contain 362 different species of bacteria at once, reaching a density of up to 45 billion / square centimeter. Or we can look at it this way: bacteria can be present on your dishwashing sponge in as high a concentration as in your toilet bowl.
We would also almost certainly assume that you are not changing your sponge often enough. We tend to throw away a used dishwashing sponge only when it smells “dirty”. This smell is probably caused by one of the bacteria found in it, Moxarella osloensis. From this you can already suspect that if you only take out a new sponge at this time, it has already gone bad. On the other hand, you cannot change it every day, because even if you protect your health with it, you are doing a lot of harm to the environment with the amount of garbage. Experts recommend changing it weekly.
What could be a good alternative then?
There is no question that you will need some kind of device, but you can't wash all the plates, glasses, and cutlery by hand. A common solution (and partly wrong) for this is to "clean" the dishwashing sponge in the microwave, as we tend to think that the high temperature will kill the bacteria on the sponge. However, research shows that the strongest and most dangerous bacteria survive microwaving without any problems, so you can only eliminate some of them this way.
You can also try soaking your dishwashing sponge in vinegar. According to an experiment by the Good Housekeeping Institute, you can still kill a significant amount of bacteria due to the disinfectant effect of vinegar.
However, researchers prefer to recommend another alternative to a sponge: using a dishwashing brush, which is just as effective as a sponge.
“Salmonella and other bacteria are more likely to survive on sponges than on brushes, as sponges never dry completely during daily use,” Moretro explains.
But that still doesn't mean that the dishwashing brush won't harbor bacteria, you just have to worry about it less than with a sponge. Another issue is that washing dishes with a brush is less comfortable, as it's mostly used to remove stubborn dirt.
It may seem obvious that if you invest in a dishwasher instead of washing dishes by hand, you will no longer have to worry about sponges. This is not only safe, but also a water-saving method that can significantly reduce your ecological footprint and take a big step towards an environmentally conscious household. But let's be honest, it is not easy to completely replace washing dishes by hand, you will still wash a glass or plate from time to time.
However, the combination of the two seems like a good solution: you can put the dishwashing brush in the dishwasher for disinfection, so when it comes time to wash dishes by hand, you have less to worry about bacteria.
And while we're at it, it doesn't matter what you wash your dishes with.
Do you know what's in the dishwashing liquid you use? In our previous article, we reported that traditional cleaning products can contain a lot of toxic ingredients - such as fragrances - that can harm your health and that of your family while cleaning your home. Just think about it: you don't even know exactly what ingredients you're cleaning the plate with, which you'll eat from later!
You're much better off switching to natural detergents that are just as effective at removing greasy stains from plates and glasses, without having to worry about harming your health by washing dishes. CYCLE's dishwashing detergent contains all-natural ingredients – such as acetic acid and other organic compounds, recycled water, citric acid and lemon essential oil.
