On Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:59:53 +0200, ChattyCathy
> wrote:

>The Ranger wrote:
>
>>
>> We also nuke our sponges. The first time you take it out fresh from
>> the MW, you're more careful after that.
>
>I'm quite intrigued by this nuke 'em thing. They're well, imitation
>sponge and (I assume) are made from some sort of plastic-y stuff - and
>I always thought killing bacterial lifeforms needed more time (at
>boiling point of water) than would be good for the sponge. In fact, I
>thought they would 'melt' before they were sufficiently sanitized.
>Guess I was wrong <laugh>

Typical household sponges are made of cellulose... they won't last
long exposed to harsh chemicals, most especially caustics like bleach
and dishwasher compounds, and they don't fare well exposed to high
temperatures, ie. boiling, and they don't survive laundry detrergent.
The best way to sanitize a cellulose sponge is to wash it well with
soap and water, rinse, squeeze out excess, and hang outdoors on a
sunny day... UV is one of the best sanitizers... also a great way to
sanitize wooden cutting boards... and so far sunlight is free. There
are also UV wands that can be used to effectively sanitize kitchen
counters... all my well water is UV sanitized, so is the air in my
house. Why do you think solar research is practically at a
standstill... pure politics... could have done away with fossil fuel
50 years ago, yoose really think there are no more like Edison, Bell,
Marconi, Tesla, etal.? The billions BP used to clean an oil spill
would have funded solar research to free us from fossil fuels... pure
science is the most underfunded commodity on the planet... war costs
much more and accomplishes nothing.