We all know that our world is full of germs, most
of which you encounter on your kitchen counter.
Naturally, I’m concerned about the health and safety of my family. Experts tell us that that sponge you use to
wash dishes is not nice and clean from all that cleansing dish soap.
That sponge is actually a vast growing medium for legions of
dangerous pathogenic bugs. Some people
use a dish cloth instead. They toss it
in the wash machine after every use, or so they say. Sure, you’re washing that cloth in hot
water. That ought to get it clean. Trouble
is, you’re putting it in with other items that are also washed in hot
water. You know, like underwear. After that, it’s clean enough to eat off of? Or rub against things you’re going to eat off
of?
Never mind, I prefer a sponge. The size and girth of a sponge is simply
superior for the job of washing dishes. Still, there’s the problem of how to
clean the sponge.
Do Not put sponge in microwave! That’s what the label on my favorite sponge four pack brand says. It doesn’t say why. I’ve wondered about that, but never deeply. I developed a system for keeping the dangerous bugs off my sponges. After washing the dishes, I would wring the sponge out (to the dampness of a perfect compost pile) and place it in the microwave. I cannot recall how I came upon the ideal number of seconds to do the proper job of sanitizing the sponge, but it was under one minute.
Foreshadow Alert!
Then we got a new microwave. I hadn’t yet figured out how to make it run for a specific number of seconds so I just pressed GO and waited till the countdown of seconds reached the correct number, at which point I would open the microwave door and remove the sponge. That worked fine till one day I pressed GO, then wandered away.
A minute later, the microwave beep beep beeped to proclaim that where there is smoke, there is fire. I opened the microwave door to dreadful smelling smoke and flames rising from the half gone blackened sponge. I pulled the plate thing out of the microwave and carried the hostile festive sponge flambe’ onto the back porch and tossed it on the grass. It kept burning till I flipped the plate thing over it. Later, examining the carnage, it was clear that at least three quarters of the sponge had, well, melted away.
It was a new sponge too. A purple one.
