How do you wash your dishes? If you use the good old fashioned elbow grease and a sponge and some dish soap, you might want to think twice about doing that.
Apparently, using a dishwasher is much better and there's some health benefits to that too. Explains Alexandra Jaffe, writing for the Atlantic.
What reliably sanitizes dishes is high heat, at temperatures greater than most people can stand. Past 145 degrees Fahrenheit, water easily and quickly kills bacteria. . .But most people can't handle water temperatures over 104 degrees, meaning those of us stuck with the pauper's slog of scrubbing our own dishes have a higher likelihood of leaving some bacteria on our plates.
Hand washing is great but its your sponge that's filthy and you're using it trying to remove filth from a filthy plate. So what do you do if you don't want to use a dishwasher?
• Sterilize your sponge by popping it in the microwave for 30 seconds
• Purchase a pair of dishwashing gloves, to protect your hands against the hot hot water you are about to start using
• Accept that you will probably never, ever, not ever get your dishes dishwasher-clean. (But know that this is okay, because, as Jaffe puts it, "I've been eating from germ-riddled dishes for over two decades now, and I'm not dead yet. So, eating from them for decades more probably won't kill me—or you.")
Or if you want, invest in a dishwasher! [TheAtlantic ]
