Microwave your sponge to kill germs

Washington: Germ-conscious consumers are snapping up a new generation of products designed to reduce the risk of catching a bug.

We're not talking about antibacterial soaps, chlorine bleaches and cleansers: these days, you can minimise your health risks with antimicrobial pens and trashcans equipped with infrared sensors that trigger self-opening lids.

Still, one household product that spreads infection hasn't changed much over the years: your kitchen sponge. But scientists say they've found a near-foolproof method for sanitising even that old germ trap - make sure the sponge is wet, then nuke it in your microwave oven. Why be so obsessive? Sponges are one of the key pathways for bacteria, viruses, parasites and other germs to spread in the home, causing many of the 76 million cases of food-borne illnesses in the US a year, experts say.

Some microbiologists recommend throwing sponges away after a week to keep the germs at bay. But almost nobody does.

"The kitchen sponge is a source of all sorts of microbes," says Gabriel Bitton, a microbiologist at the University of Florida. Bitton and a team of UF researchers say their recipe for making sponges less infectious is simple: microwave them on high for about two minutes.

"It won't completely sterilise them, but it will knock out almost all of the bacteria," Bitton said. Specifically, the heat and drying process destroy bacteria and other pathogens that need water to survive, according to experts.