Post
by socknitster » Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:31 pm
About the sponge thing, just want to weigh in here. People forget sometimes exactly what they are cleaning up after in the kitchen with their sponges. Chicken for example--the reason people get so sick from poorly handled chicken is because it is covered in a very thin and invisible layer of feces during processing. We slog these things around the kitchen and rinse them off in our sinks and then mop up with a soapy sponge or dishrag, which is fine, but over time,if not thoroughly clean, the microscopic bits of food and the moisture make for a toxic bacteria breeding ground.
It is scary but true that there is usually more coliform bacteria (i.e. poop bacteria) in typical American sinks and sponges than in their toilets. Since we spend so much time cleaning things up in the kitchen, it sounds impossible. But the truth is poop bacteria is very sticky and needs to be scrubbed with a brush to be gotten rid of or blasted with heat.
I got a little thingy at Bed Bath and Beyond that allows me to hang my dishrag to dry. It is like a soap dish with a stick on top that is bent. Anyway, my dishrags dry quickly but I change them frequently, occasionally microwave them and sniff if I'm suspicious. If it doesn't smell soapy clean, into the washbin it goes. It is bacteria that give sponges and dishrags that icky smell.
Now, I completely understand where you are coming from, Babette. I grew up with a Mom like yours. But I have to say, honestly, whereas getting stomach bugs were so common when I was a kid and young adult living at home--my sister and my whole family regularly came down with episodes of vomiting and diahrea--since I started keeping my own house, that problem went away. And my son has only had one vomiting illness in his whole life--and that was when he was still young enough to put everything, hands included, in his mouth. The last time I got really scary diahrea was after spending time at my Mom's house (that was pull over to the side of the road, I can't wait kind of scary).
We get our share of colds--those are airborn, but tummy troubles, not so much. Just food for thought.
Jen
