The sponges and dishrags you use to scrub counters and plates are actually teeming with bacteria, such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus and E. coli, according to the University of Arizona. To keep your scrubbers (and your kitchen!) germ-free, microwave sponges or run them through the dishwasher. Microwaving sponges for one minute kills 99.99999 percent of bacteria present on them, while dishwashing with a dry cycle kills 99.9998 percent of bacteria, according to a study done by microbiologists at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Food Technology and Safety Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland.
