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Even in the cleanest kitchens, chances are something is growing. It might be mold on cheese or bacteria on the sink sponge. Or it could be a black fungus that loves the heat and humidity in your dishwasher.

European researchers recently collected samples from dishwashers in private homes on six continents (though most were gathered in Slovenia) and found several strains of fungi growing in 62 percent of the dishwashers. The fungi were growing on rubber seals in the dishwasher.

Warm, moist environments are incubators for some fungi; they are common in bathrooms, kitchens and steam baths. But the researchers were surprised to find fungi thriving on surfaces that can sometimes reach temperatures close to the boiling point of water. Even so, dishwashers may be an ideal environment because of continuous moisture, high pH due to the regular use of detergents and temporarily increased temperatures.

But is the presence of a fungus in your dishwasher really dangerous? The researchers, whose study is published in Fungal Biology, the journal of the British Mycological Society, aren't sure.

The most commonly found fungus, a black yeast called Exophiala is known to be an opportunistic pathogen, but it typically only infects patients with cystic fibrosis. The researchers called for further study to determine if the fungus lurking in your dishwasher is really dangerous.

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