Cloths and scourers are essential elements in any kitchen, so they are used daily at home. However, it may seem paradoxical that something intended to sanitize utensils has the ideal structure for numerous bacteria to live and develop there. The study carried out by Duke University (USA) already said this when it described these elements as “bacterial incubators”.
That is why their correct disinfection and the useful life that we must provide to these instruments are things to take into account when cleaning. Mario Sánchez Rosagro, food technologist and scientific popularizer, has moved to YouTube to shed light on the matter and clear up any doubts.
Sánchez talks about biofilms, which he considers to be one of the biggest enemies within the food industry: “They are forms of bacterial resistance that are very difficult to eliminate, it is something like microbes protecting themselves with an almost indestructible iron shield ( …) and once they appear it is very difficult to eliminate them”.
“When we get our hands on the cloth or sponge and it is slimy, it has a slippery film, that is biofilms. That is the warning sign that should make you rethink twice whether to use that utensil with your grandmother’s dishes again, what you have to do is throw it in the trash and get rid of it ”.
If we ignore this recommendation and decide to wipe a surface with a cloth, Sánchez explains that we will be spreading pathogenic bacteria throughout our home, eventually causing food poisoning.
Regarding the useful life of these utensils, Mario is clear: “If we use scourers regularly, that is, to scrub daily (…) we should ideally change them weekly”. However, if we have a dishwasher, we should do it biweekly or even monthly.
