Kitchen sink – the biggest hiding place for bacteria When it comes to the dirtiest place in the house, many people will immediately think of the toilet – a humid place and often exposed to waste. But in fact, the kitchen sink is really the “dirty” thing, and at the same time has the greatest risk of spreading bacteria.
According to Dr. Charles Gerba, microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona (USA): “The kitchen sink is full of germs. Think about it, you pour everything into it. You slice raw meat after. That’s why you wash the cutting board in the sink. You dump leftovers in the sink. You defrost frozen meats or wash raw chicken. That’s why there’s more bacteria in the sink than in the toilet.”
There are more bacteria in the sink than in the toilet.
In addition to food, dishcloths can also be a source of infection for the sink. There are up to 10 million bacteria per square inch (1 inch = 2.54cm) of a sponge rag, and about a million if a cloth rag, the doctor says. Even a dish rag is 200,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat.
When you use these dish rags to clean the sink, they spread even more bacteria. The sink can contain bacteria that cause foodborne illness, most commonly Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli. These bacteria can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and other manifestations of food poisoning after entering the human body.
Worth mentioning, the sink is often used by families to soak vegetables, or store raw food before processing.
The chilling test proves that using soap + hot water can’t kill all the bacteria in the sink
To clean the family sink, most of us scrub with soap, then rinse with hot water – That’s enough peace of mind for the “disinfecting” process. However, the test below on a microscope will make you rethink the cleanliness of your sink.
This is a video that is “storming” on the social network Tiktok of an account called What Might Grow. Accordingly, the author experimented with putting food in the sink, then rinsing it with plain water. After taking a sample of the water in the tub and examining it under a microscope, this person discovered a very large number of bacteria.
Tests prove that using soap + hot water can’t kill all bacteria.
In the second way, the author poured soap into the sink and then scrubbed it thoroughly for 1 minute, finally using hot water to wash off the soap. Next, the author took a sample of the water in the basin to examine under the microscope.
The results showed that the first days this part of the water was very clean, with no signs of bacteria. However, after that, bacteria began to appear, multiplying very quickly. It is estimated that only 20 have grown to 45,000 bacteria within 10 days. At the end of the video, the author commented that the sink, even with hot water and soap, could not be completely cleaned.
It is estimated that only 20 have grown to 45,000 bacteria within 10 days. (Photo cut from the clip).
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh (former lecturer at Institute of Food Technology, University of Science and Technology, Hanoi): It is quite possible that the sink, even though it has been scrubbed with soap or hot water, still has bacteria. go out. Because to kill bacteria we have to use 100 degrees Celsius water, while the hot water at the faucet is not hot enough to that level. Although the cleaning process can kill some bacteria, it does not necessarily kill all of them. Moreover, bacteria in the tub can reappear due to the cleaning equipment not being clean enough, or bacteria spreading from the garbage pipe…
“In the sink, just a few bacteria appear, after a few hours it has grown extremely fast, exponentially. 1 into 10, 10 into 100, 100 into 1000, so cleaning the sink is not guaranteed. make sure that the garbage bag in the tank is clean enough … then the possibility of cross-contamination will definitely happen,” the expert said.
According to experts, relying on hot water or soap alone cannot guarantee that the sink will be completely clean. Instead, people should use specialized cleaning products for the kitchen. Furthermore, the sink should be scrubbed immediately after each cooking session. If left for a long time, the stains become more stubborn, difficult to clean and the easier it is to accumulate bacteria. In addition to cleaning the sink, items such as kitchen brushes or kitchen rags, sponges also need to be replaced once a month to avoid them spreading bacteria to the cooking environment.
Many experts recommend using a separate basin to wash food instead of soaking it in the sink, no matter how thoroughly it has been cleaned before.
The standard process of cleaning the sink every family must know – Step 1: Clean up the garbage in the sink, the garbage filter bowl
The first thing before you want to clean the sink, you need to empty the trash and remove the dirt in the sink’s garbage basket, including the small things that stick around the basin. Then, use a toothbrush to scrub away the dirt on the trash basket.
– Step 2: Scrub and clean the faucet, need to wash
Need to wash and the faucet at the top is less dirty, but every day, the number of times we touch and touch them is also a lot, so housewives should pay attention not to miss cleaning these areas.
– Step 3: Scrub the basin and the wall of the basin
Just scrubbing with clean water and soap is not enough to kill all the stains and bacteria in the sink. It will be more effective if you use an extra sponge or dishwashing sponge made of rough yarn. For hard-to-clean nooks and crannies, you can use a toothbrush to scrub the stains away.
Instead of soap, you can use a baking soda mixture; or use salt + lemon; or use a mixture of salt, vinegar and hot water… these are all natural cleaners with high safety and good effect.
Finally, after you have cleaned everything, pour boiling water into the garbage filter bowl and the entire sink, the drain will no longer be clogged, the odor will be gone, but the washbasin has been disinfected clean and shiny.