Kitchen Sink

Tag : Cold Water Cleaner

The study was sponsored by the makers of the cleaning productLysol, but the company did not design the study. Samples were takenby independent environmental scientists in 20 homes with childrenin each of seven regions, including the U.K., the U.S., Germany,Africa, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and India.
Internationally, 90 percent of kitchen cloths, 46 percent ofkitchen sinks, 38 percent of bathroom sinks and 14 percent ofchildren's toys failed the test, meaning they had a total bacteriacount of more than 100,000 per square centimeter.
The bacteria included E. coli and salmonella, which were probablycarried in by food, small children or pets, researchers said. Theycan cause diarrhea or infections with flu-like symptoms that areespecially dangerous to small children, the elderly and pregnantwomen.
"Bacteria find a happy home in sponges. When you wipe, you take upfood and drink and bacteria can feed on that," said Charles Gerba,an environmental microbiology professor at the University ofArizona who was not involved with the research.
John Oxford, who led the study and is a professor of virology atSt. Bartholomew's and The Royal London Hospital, Queen Mary'sSchool of Medicine and Dentistry, warned that families put greateffort into cleaning toilets, but not nearly as much time intokeeping their kitchens clean.
"You could eat your dinner in a U.S. toilet but there is a lack ofappreciation that kitchen sinks can be contaminated with fecalorganisms, either coming in with fruit and vegetables or from petsand children," he said.
But keeping clean is not impossible. Dean Cliver, a professor offood safety at the University of California, suggests sterilizingsponges with a one-minute high-powered blast in the microwave,washing hands and avoiding rinsing chicken in the sink.
Or forget sponges entirely. Professor Elizabeth Scott of theSimmons Center for Hygiene and Health in Boston recommends cleaningfood spills with a paper towel and dumping it.
Ironically, Gerba said his own findings suggest that living like aslob is better than meticulously cleaning the kitchen with a dirtysponge. A study he carried out 10 years ago found that 10 percentof kitchen sponges contained salmonella.
One of his most astounding findings was that bachelors had thecleanest kitchens. They just threw their dishes into the kitchensink and didn't spread bacteria by wiping surfaces.
Another of Gerba's findings was that your post-flush toilet bowl isindeed cleaner than your kitchen sink.
"That's why your dog drinks from it," he said. "He probably looksat you drinking from the kitchen sink and thinks: 'Humans. That'sjust so gross.' "