Re: Laziness

I recall several decades ago, when I was a cadet nurse, because we were aged 16 when we enrolled we had to attend a local college one day a week. One of the classes was microbiology, and I vividly remember the teacher coming into class with a pile of dirty dishes from the canteen. These he divided into two identical lots, the first he washed, rinsed and allowed to air dry, and the second he washed then dried with a tea towel that had previously been autoclaved. With this second lot, after each item was wiped, he touched the area of cloth that had been used onto the surface of some agar agar in a petri dish; with the first lot he waited until they were all dry and wiped the surface of each item with a clean sterile swab and wiped each of those onto similar dishes. Then all dishes were labelled and put away in a cabinet. The following week they were all removed and looked at.

OMG!!! You would not believe the colonies of bacteria on the dishes from the tea towel, and each one was worse than the previous. What of course was happening was that initially the cloth wiped stuff 'off' the first item, but then deposited this 'onto' the second before collecting both this plus new bacteria from item no two. So each subsequent item had the accumulated bacteria from all previous items wiped onto it.

As for the rinsed and air dried dishes, all produced a virtually bacteria free dish.

Have never dried a dish since.

Re: Laziness

I heard much the same thing on a programme I watched and have never dried flatware since.

Re: Laziness

And seems to be coming true

Re: Laziness

Re: Laziness

Talking about tea towels, I'm glad I take my own mug down to the allotments. I helped with the washing up today and I found a dishcloth had fallen to the floor. Now, remembering that there is all sorts of muck on the ground: compost, manure, animals faeces and urine, foxes and rats, squirrels, people walking in and out, carrying whatever next on their shoes and boots. I asked for a clean un and the friend I was helping gave it a shake, and said 'there, that's ok!'

Eeeekkkk!! I reluctantly took it and wiped the mugs but I even said out loud, glad I have my own! We are fellow committee members so can say anything to each other!