Safety Alert: Nuking Sponges

by Diane Lofshult

News services reported recently that the best way to sterilize sponges at home is to heat them in a microwave oven for 2 minutes. After these reports were published, numerous people were unpleasantly surprised by igniting or exploding sponges. According to the original researcher, Gabriel Bitton of the University of Florida, the sponges should be the cellulose type, the microwave should not exceed a maximum of 1,100 watts of power, the power should be set to no higher than 90%, and the sponges should be fully soaked with water before being nuked. If performed properly, Bitton’s sterilization procedure should kill or inactivate more than 99% of bacteria, viruses, parasites and spores on a cellulose kitchen sponge.