It is common knowledge that if you leave a wet sponge out in the open too long, it becomes a veritable colony for germs like E. coli and for viruses, protozoan parasites, and bacterial spores.

It doesn't sound too bad, until we mention that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that 76 million Americans get sick annually, with a further 5,000 dying from food poisoning due to these microbes.

Now, while most people would think that a quick trip to the dishwasher is enough to cure the problem, researchers have found an even easier way to kill 99 percent of the microbes infesting this cleaning tool - nuke it.

"People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave," said Gabriel Bitton, the environmental engineering professor who led this study at the University of Florida.

The research group tested this remarkably simple but effective method of sterilization by placing a household sponge in an equally common household microwave. According to their results, two minutes was enough to kill all the aforementioned germs, with a further four to 10 minutes needed to kill all remaining spores. No further comments if standing close to the oven can cause cancer.

The study and its results are currently published in the Journal of Environmental Health.