New study suggest replacing kitchen sponges every week due to bacterias - Sensationalist Headlines

I usually replace my sponges when they look all messed up from a lot of use :v:.

[QUOTE=sam6420;52543195]Replace your sponges you filthy animals. Honestly, after a week my sponges always look abused to shreds, but I don't have a dishwasher so they get a lot of work.[/QUOTE] You're scrubbing way too hard if your sponges are being torn to shreds within a week.

[QUOTE=phygon;52542902]These are particularly resistant variants of bacteria that gets you sick. Seems like a particularly bad thing to be exposed to every single day, especially if you don't replace your sponges for months since you're "cleaning them".[/QUOTE] 99.9% of germs, but the .1 percent multiplies and takes over.

[QUOTE=OvB;52542927]I thought this was a common practice? Sponges are disgusting. I rarely use them. If I gotta hand wash something I use a long handle brush.[/QUOTE] Yeah, same. I thought it was common knowledge at this point that sink sponges are some of the dirtiest goddamn things in the world. They're worse than public restroom toilet bowls accord to studies done over a decade ago. Doesn't seem like that has changed here either. [editline]5th August 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=djjkxbox;52542941]Common practice in the UK is that sponges are thrown away when they're basically falling apart. People washing with hot water, which again is common practice, know that the majority of bacteria is killed, and that's more than sufficient by general hygiene standards[/QUOTE] Not really, the bacteria you actually need to be worried about is the stuff that wouldn't be gotten rid of by that method anyway. Unless you're soaking the sponges in a tub of bleach every time then it's still ungodly dirty. [editline]5th August 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;52543026]if it really were dangerous we would have been seeing it have an effect on household health long before it was discovered by research.[/QUOTE] This is a silly notion. For the longest time in human history households were plagued by diseases and we only ever found out the reason when someone did the research, and it was that wells were fucking disgusting. Households still get sick regularly and we can point to many factors, but we still don't know the primary ones yet, especially with the lack of data on the environment of the average person is. Not going to dispute that you need to be exposed to bacteria to properly become (more) immune to it, but this excerpt couldn't be more wrong.

[QUOTE=ForgottenKane;52543300]Yeah, same. I thought it was common knowledge at this point that sink sponges are some of the dirtiest goddamn things in the world. They're worse than public restroom toilet bowls accord to studies done over a decade ago. Doesn't seem like that has changed here either. [editline]5th August 2017[/editline] Not really, the bacteria you actually need to be worried about is the stuff that wouldn't be gotten rid of by that method anyway. Unless you're soaking the sponges in a tub of bleach every time then it's still ungodly dirty.[/QUOTE] If you go around UK households, you'll find that the majority use sponges until they're falling apart, and don't replace them every week, it's seen as perfectly normal and hygienic here. In any case, whatever bacteria is there is only going to cause you a problem if you have a very weak immune system, which again kids will have if they're brought up in an environment where too much bacteria is removed

[QUOTE=Gray Altoid;52543138]Where the hell did this notion come from? The immune system isn't a muscle, you can't improve it by constantly exposing yourself to threats. It's stronger against pathogens it's encountered before, yes, but lack of prolonged exposure doesn't make you LOSE the markers. [editline]5th August 2017[/editline] I, too, like to take quick dips in my septic tank from time to time to keep myself healthy.[/QUOTE] This is extreme. If your white blood cells come in contact with something often enough, they'll learn to deal with it in better ways. Self-immunization for venoms works similarly. There are people who are completely immune to the most dangerous venoms on the planet because of this process, as an example. The same works for diseases, to an extent (the problem with bacteria is that they can evolve and thus your previous defenses no longer mean anything to different strains). [editline]5th August 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=djjkxbox;52543319]If you go around UK households, you'll find that the majority use sponges until they're falling apart, and don't replace them every week, it's seen as perfectly normal and hygienic here. In any case, whatever bacteria is there is only going to cause you a problem if you have a very weak immune system, which again kids will have if they're brought up in an environment where too much bacteria is removed[/QUOTE] If you're [i]constantly[/i] exposed to bacteria, you'll build up a resistance yes, but it'll leave permanent damage to your body. I have to live with a permanently decreased lung capacity because I lived in a dirty environment growing up. I can never run track. I can't even exercise for long. And I'll never be able to fix this. Clean your fucking houses so you don't end up giving someone else what I have.

I don't like using sponges at all over burshes. You just can't get a sponge dry enough after use so it's a given it'll be breeding with bacteria.

I really have no idea where this sudden idea that using clean sponges is going to weaken your immune system is coming from, it certainly wasn't a conclusion of this study or probably any study to my knowledge. I really doubt that using clean sponges is going to weaken your immune system, on account of the fact that every other environment you interact with will involve exposure to microbes. Also the notion that having a little more contamination in your food will only have the effect of making your immune system stronger is straight up wrong, on account of the very clear relationships between food source contamination and cases of GIT disease (something which you see everywhere, including in countries where standards are straight up lower across the bar). It's also a bit silly to outright dismiss the results of this study because 'people have different standards of clean' and 'bacteria strengthen your immune system.' One of the very clear points of the study is that sponges are great at supporting the growth of bacteria, and that the microbiomes of sponges commonly include pathogens. This means that a sponge can act as a resevoir for pathogens, and possibly make people sick due to cross contamination. Is using a sponge guaranteed to make you sick? No, but that doesn't mean that it could be a direct cause, or part of a chain of events that lead to someone getting food poisoning. The reason why they recommend changing sponges is that [I]regularly cleaned[/I] sponge samples showed no difference in microbial load compared to sponges that were not cleaned. This makes sense because after you finish cleaning a sponge once, the microbes are going to grow again back to the normal microbial load, which kinda renders the process useless unless you are cleaning [I]before[/I] using the sponge or something, and in the end it's probably easier to just use a new sponge every week because it's still quite affordable. Another point they raised was that using certain commercial sponge cleaning solutions appeared to enrich the population in favor or particular pathogenic species, which would make the sponge an even better resevoir for pathogenic bacteria than it already is.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52542913]If that sponge has touched anything, your resistant bacteria is on that too. Resistant bacteria is everywhere, thinking that replacing your sponges every week is going to make a considerable difference is laughable. Also, if everyone started buying sponges every week the price of them would soon go up[/QUOTE] The difference is a sponge keeps moisture and thats why bacteria grows on it a surface dries and not much survives on it that's why you have a sponge to clean it basic science 101

bacteria isn't something you should totally avoid, what about gut health and your immune system?

why bother using shit-tier sponges when you got brushes? [img]http://i.imgur.com/r2aukam.jpg[/img]

We are replacing our sponge like every 1-2 weeks, depending on how dirty the dishes were etc. Usually don't last longer than that anyways. They are cheap, so its not that big of the deal.

i guess swapping out sponges every week isn't that bad. i just associate it with people who use hand sanitizer every moment they get, not just when they actually need their hands to be sanitized. that shit is unhealthy, whereas this is likely more of a take it or leave it sort of scenario

[QUOTE=Gray Altoid;52543138]Where the hell did this notion come from? The immune system isn't a muscle, you can't improve it by constantly exposing yourself to threats. It's stronger against pathogens it's encountered before, yes, but lack of prolonged exposure doesn't make you LOSE the markers. [editline]5th August 2017[/editline] I, too, like to take quick dips in my septic tank from time to time to keep myself healthy.[/QUOTE] Isn't that exactly what a vaccine does? Like exposing it to threats so it can better fight a real infection?

[QUOTE=notlabbet;52543680]bacteria isn't something you should totally avoid, what about gut health and your immune system?[/QUOTE] Gut health isn't necessarily about what bacteria you're eating; apart from fermented foods, which I think has evidence to suggest they're good, the bacterial content of food doesn't necessarily have too huge a role in gut health, at least as far as I'm aware. The kinds of food you eat, in terms of their nutritional makeup, has important effects too. The main concern about a sponge is that it can easily harbor pathogenic bacteria, which could become involved in food poisoning in some way or another. [editline]6th August 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=The freeman;52543692]why bother using shit-tier sponges when you got brushes? [img]http://i.imgur.com/r2aukam.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Brushes have a similar problem to sponges in that they can still hold on to water easily and have plenty of spaces where bacteria can grow and not be easily removed, although a sponge is arguably worse than a brush when it comes to these aspects

[QUOTE=kariko;52543873]Isn't that exactly what a vaccine does? Like exposing it to threats so it can better fight a real infection?[/QUOTE] Except vaccines give you something that is essentially dead already, not the real deal.

[QUOTE=kariko;52543873]Isn't that exactly what a vaccine does? Like exposing it to threats so it can better fight a real infection?[/QUOTE] Vaccines are different because they aren't infectious, so there's very little risk of an adverse reaction or an infection. The reason why pathogens are bad and you want to avoid them is that it's pretty easy for them to evade the immune system and then go on to make you sick. The way that you are exposed to pathogens from poorly-handled food is quite a bit different to the way you are exposed to antigenic material (basically some thing that stimulates the immune response) from a vaccine. Being exposed to some foodborne pathogens or getting food poisoning isn't going to magically make you immune or resistant to food poisoning.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52542863]"Clean" has a different meaning to different people. Too little bacteria means your immune system will be shot, you need to be exposed to a certain level of bacteria, it's natural. Clean for me is what it generally is for most people, but I'm not a germaphobe, so I won't be replacing my sponges every week[/QUOTE] I never shower because I don't want to wash away my vital bacteria layers

[QUOTE=Carlito;52543952]Gut health isn't necessarily about what bacteria you're eating; apart from fermented foods, which I think has evidence to suggest they're good, the bacterial content of food doesn't necessarily have too huge a role in gut health, at least as far as I'm aware. The kinds of food you eat, in terms of their nutritional makeup, has important effects too. The main concern about a sponge is that it can easily harbor pathogenic bacteria, which could become involved in food poisoning in some way or another. [editline]6th August 2017[/editline] Brushes have a similar problem to sponges in that they can still hold on to water easily and have plenty of spaces where bacteria can grow and not be easily removed, although a sponge is arguably worse than a brush when it comes to these aspects[/QUOTE] And so, if not a sponge, and if not a brush, what else? Show me the way. Because I love clean dishes and this is super relevant to my interests. I'm currently using and throwing away sponges plus I have a brush, they fill different scrubbing niches, but if there's a better tool I'm all for it.

[QUOTE=J Paul;52546049]And so, if not a sponge, and if not a brush, what else? Show me the way. Because I love clean dishes and this is super relevant to my interests. I'm currently using and throwing away sponges plus I have a brush, they fill different scrubbing niches, but if there's a better tool I'm all for it.[/QUOTE] high heat sanitizing dishwasher with whatever scrubbing implement you want.

I run mine through the dishwasher

I dont gotta worry about sponges except when im camping. Cus unless im camping, i aint a fuckin caveman and i have an actual robot that cleans my dishes for me built into my counter.

[QUOTE=Del91;52546202]I run mine through the dishwasher[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Birdman101;52546244]I dont gotta worry about sponges except when im camping. Cus unless im camping, i aint a fuckin caveman and i have an actual robot that cleans my dishes for me built into my counter.[/QUOTE] Get a load of the bourgeois over here.

if you wring out your sponges and place them in a holder that allows air flow, they'll dry pretty fast even in fairly moist weather. i do this for up to a month for each sponge before it even begins to start smelling funky

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;52546250]Get a load of the bourgeois over here.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I literally don't have space for a dishwasher. So I guess I'll buy a bunch of sponges and try to keep them dry.

if you don't autoclave your dishes after every meal don't even talk to me

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52542941]Common practice in the UK is that sponges are thrown away when they're basically falling apart. People washing with hot water, which again is common practice, know that the majority of bacteria is killed, and that's more than sufficient by general hygiene standards[/QUOTE] Yeah, there's no big sponge epidemic, people aren't flopping over ill in their thousands because of sponges. Buying excess sponges just sounds wasteful

I normally replace them after about a week, partly because I don't won't to hold a manky sponge and partly because I don't want a manky sponge all over my plates

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52542941]Common practice in the UK is that sponges are thrown away when they're basically falling apart. People washing with hot water, which again is common practice, know that the majority of bacteria is killed, and that's more than sufficient by general hygiene standards[/QUOTE] If the water you were washing with was hot enough to kill the bacteria, it would scald your skin.

[QUOTE=J Paul;52546049]And so, if not a sponge, and if not a brush, what else? Show me the way. Because I love clean dishes and this is super relevant to my interests. I'm currently using and throwing away sponges plus I have a brush, they fill different scrubbing niches, but if there's a better tool I'm all for it.[/QUOTE] Just use a sponge and replace it regularly? And maybe replace a brush every so often, not as often a sponge because it's not as bad. The point isn't 'hurr sponges and brushes are bad' but that they get dirty over time and it's probably not ideal to keep using a dirty one. Like, sponges and brushes are fine, just don't expect that they're going to be good forever. [editline]7th August 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Stopper;52547035]If the water you were washing with was hot enough to kill the bacteria, it would scald your skin.[/QUOTE] This isn't exactly the case, as lower temps over prolonged periods can kill a lot of bacteria, but whether or not protocols involving cleaning sponges with hot water will kill all the bacteria is a concern. Another thing is that you're probably never going to get a sterile sponge (or one with a negligible bacterial load) using whatever cleaning processes are accessible in the kitchen, nor is that status going to last very long in a kitchen.