DUBAI: It is that time of year again, when the media starts scratching around for anything to fill the pages with.
And it would seem that laboratories are no different – the latest case-in-point being the “shocking” revelation of the dirtiest, most germ-filled object in your home.
And it is… Cue the drumroll… the kitchen sponge. Apparently this one object you use to clean everything is actually home to more bacteria than most other places and objects in the home.
The findings were published in Scientific Reports following research which looked at bacterial micro biome composition of kitchen sponges – for the non-scientists that is microorganisms/germs in a particular place.
The actual number was a disturbingly high 54 billion bacteria per cubic centimeter. To give you something to compare that with – this is the same amount of bacteria estimated to exist in human feces.
These sponges are what most of us use to clean our pots and pans, even the cutlery we put in our mouths; we also use them to “clean” kitchen work surfaces where we prepare food.
And the study found that regularly cleaned sponges contained the same amount of bacteria as dirty sponges.