Comments on: Episode 135: Hidden Nasties

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:57:59 +0000

Just saw the rerun of the car skipping. One factual error … The second car was a 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT -a mid-engined, V-6, two-seat car. One of the testers referred to it as a 15-year-old car. Try the math again … In 2009 this is a 23-year-old car.

By: MikeA

MikeA — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:30:48 +0000

One more thing the article neglects to mention. All this sponge hysteria has people using rags to clean their dishes. Because they believe rags are safe (since sponges are believed not to be safe) they don’t take care to assure the rag is maintained. As such, the filthy kitchen rag will be far more infectious than a properly maintained kitchen sponge.

By: MikeA

MikeA — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:28:41 +0000

As a microbiologist I can unequivocally say that the only myth is that a kitchen sponge is the dirtiest thing in your house. I would ask what sponge was swabbed? Was it a properly kept and maintained kitchen sponge or the dirtiest one you could find?

Here are the facts:
1) A kitchen sponge should be sudsed with a dish cleaner, rinsed, and squeezed dry throughout the day.
2) The sponge should be stored out in the open. For instance, store it in the sponge holder of your dish rack (not in the drawer under the sink – or anywhere that is dark and damp).
3) The sponge should be made thoroughly wet and microwaved for two minutes after each use on raw food items; and at least once a day if no raw food is being cleaned. BTW, microwaving does work. What nonsense to say that it’s ok to microwave chicken in order to kill all potential salmonella but you can’t do the same thing with a sponge. As long as the sponge is thoroughly wet, and you microwave for two minutes it will become sterile. Remember, microwaves work by exciting water molecules and a sponge is great at holding water – as such proper microwaving will clean it thoroughly.
4) The sponge should be discarded and replaced on a weekly basis.

If you follow all the steps above the kitchen sponge will be amongst the cleanest item in your house. In fact, I challenge anyone to culture the sponge in my kitchen (with me to over see the collection process and in the lab to assure proper scientific standards are being met) and find more cultures than the water that you drink.

Let’s bust a real myth. Sponges are safe as long as they are properly maintained.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:22:25 +0000

It depends on how the terms are lseitd. If you have a limit of $25 you can only take up to that amount, this is the most common. If it says your limit is $25 per day, then you can take up to $25 each day. The most common is that it is giving you a total cash advance limit not the per day limit.However, Cash Advances are very costly for you and very profitable for the bank. The Credit Card Company will charge you a fee to do this, then the ATM you get the money out of will also charge you a fee. There is also NO grace period on Cash Advances so the interest starts the day you take the money. That $20 ATM trip will probably end up costing you $30 or more. So it is something you really need to think about before taking any money out

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:33:03 +0000

[...] [...]

By: Tshepo

Tshepo — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 07:40:06 +0000

To answer your oeistuqns:1. Yes, people have tried it and although some claim it works, there is no scientific evidence to prove that it does. How come some claim it does? Well because it is a giant scam which uses well-paid affiliates. These affiliates (very few of who actually have these systems in their cars) are told to lie about the system and claim they do have it. They make outrageous (untrue) claims such as it works for me, my gas mileage has improved from 18mpg to 28mpg since I fitted the device and direct people to a website where you’re encouraged to buy a kit or book. If you’re silly enough to do so, the affiliate earns around $25-$50 (50% of the sale price). So it’s no wonder they lie.2. It is not hard at all to convert your car but it is a complete waste of time because these systems will actually *reduce* your fuel efficiency. See the link I’ve provided for the reasons why this is the case. You end up drawing more power from your engine than is returned by way of the gas that’s generated and to create that extra power you have to burn even more fuel.3. It will neither increase the noise or power of your vehicle. In fact, you’ll have *less* power because some of your HP will be wasted simply heating your alternator and the electrolysis cell (which can run 100 deg F or higher).4. There *can* be ill effects. If the hydrogen gas flashes back into the electrolysis cell this can explode and spray water (usually with a dilute acid or salt) around inside the engine bay wetting your electronics and electrics plus producing a risk of the electrolysis cell shorting and creating a fire).The best source I can suggest is the link below where the nature of the scam is described and there is some very simple math to prove why these things don’t and can’t work.Please read the pages involved in this article and also tell your friends just in case they might be tempted to get taken-in by these conmen.And remember if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

By: the war on germs | vivint.blog

the war on germs | vivint.blog — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:38:57 +0000

[...] Well, the other day I was watching a rerun that discussed hygiene-related myths in your home. The results were shocking. According to Adam and Jaime, these are the five germiest places in your [...]

By: chefmo32986

chefmo32986 — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:08:24 +0000

I was thinking the same thing they need to redo that one

By: The paperless office needs a paperless toilet | Jim Carson Blog

The paperless office needs a paperless toilet | Jim Carson Blog — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:54:03 +0000

[...] resistant – This one was especially funny because I had recently re-watched the Mythbusters episode where they tested germiness of various things. The conclusion: toilet seats were far less [...]

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:59:22 +0000

They should check the dirtiness of things like “automatic” sinks, paper towel dispensers, toilet flushers, light switches, etc…