University of Florida engineers have discovered that microwaving kitchen sponges and scrub pads for 2 minutes kills virtually all of the pathogenic organisms infesting them. Upon reading about this, I set out to do an experiment myself. From my experience, it does appear to work as long as the sponge or scrub pad is saturated with water. (Remember, metal cannot be placed in an operating microwave oven.) Simply cleaning these items in a dishwasher is not nearly as effective. (more…)