What is the best way to clean sponges?
The Best Way to Clean a SpongeMix 3/4 cup of bleach in one gallon of water.Soak the sponge in the mixture for five minutes, then rinse – and that's it!
How often should you wash a sponge?
Wring sponges out after each use and clean them every other day. While those are great habits to get into, even a sponge sanitized this often could accumulate bacteria over time, so replace yours every two weeks—or even sooner if they develop an odor or fall apart.
What to do with sponges after cleaning?
Rinse your sponge and squeeze it out a few times, then get it soaking wet again. Put the wet sponge in your microwave for 2 minutes, then let it sit in there until it's cool enough to handle. Squeeze any remaining water out and let it air-dry.
Do sponges need to be cleaned?
Bolton says it's essential to clean and sanitize your sponge regularly, ideally every day. You can do that through either heat or chemical means. First, wash the sponge with warm water and soap. The easiest next step is to microwave it on high for 1 minute.
How do I keep my sponges bacteria free?
Microwave damp sponges for one minute or put them in the dishwasher with a drying cycle. The UDSA found that this kills over 99% of bacteria, yeasts and molds. Many of us keep sponges until they look dirty or smell bad. Some of us even wait until sponges fall apart before throwing them out.
How do I keep my sponges from smelling?
Soak that kitchen sponge at the first faint whiff of unpleasantness, ideally even before matters get to that point, to discourage the nasties that can do nasty things to you. Immerse the entire sponge in full-strength white vinegar or in lemon juice, both acidic liquids, to kill bacteria, mold, yeast and viruses.
Is there a way to disinfect sponges?
Place the sponge in the top rack and run the machine through a heat-dry cycle to disinfect the sponge. The longest, hottest cycle is most effective, but any heat-dry dishwasher setting will kill the germs in your kitchen sponge. To maintain a healthy kitchen, it's important to clean kitchen sponges once a week.
How do you care for a sponge?
Clean Dish Sponge Do's and Don'tsDo use a microfiber sponge. ... Do clean your sponges daily. ... Do rinse and dry before storing. ... Don't use sponges on butcher's blocks. ... Don't keep sponges too long. ... Don't use a dish cloth in place of a clean dish sponge.
How do you refresh a sponge?
How to Clean a Sponge With Vinegar. If you don't have bleach, using vinegar is just as easy and is still very effective. Fill a bowl or container with white vinegar and submerge the sponge. Let it sit for five minutes, and then rinse the vinegar out of the sponge and let it air dry.
Why you shouldn't Use a sponge?
And to their surprise, sponges regularly cleaned in soapy water or the microwave actually harbored more of a bacteria called Moraxella osloensis. This bacteria is generally common and harmless, but it can cause infections in people with compromised immune systems.
Where should I store my sponge?
You store it improperly. Put your sponge in a basket or drying rack to promote air circulation. The quicker it dries out, the cleaner it will remain.
Does microwaving sponges sanitize them?
Bacterial spores are more difficult to kill. The results showed that two minutes in the microwave at full power killed or inactivated more than 99% of all the living germs and the bacterial spores in the sponges and pads, including E. coli.
What Are Common Kitchen Bacteria?
Most kitchens are swimming in bacteria, and it isn't just the kitchen sponge that's to blame. A recent survey by the Hygiene Council found that the average kitchen drain has 567,845 bacteria per square inch (second only to the toilet).
How to Prevent Bacteria on Kitchen Sponges
Now that we've stoked your germophobia, let's talk about some solutions. Food poisoning often results from improperly handling raw foods and inadvertent cross-contamination, which can involve the kitchen sponge.
What Are Some Good Ways to Kill the Bacteria?
Since it was discovered that kitchen sponges tend to host large colonies of bacteria, a handful of home remedies for killing the germs have been introduced in recent years. Let's take a look at some of the more popular home remedies:
Are There Different Types of Sponges That Harbor Less Fungi or Bacteria?
Considering the risks, is it even worth the trouble to keep that germy sponge around? Most kitchen sponges are made of cellulose, an organic compound made from a mixture of wood and cotton fibers.
How Often Should You Clean Sponges?
As the item that cleans all the dirty items in your kitchen, it's no surprise that the sponge is one of the dirtiest items in a home. To keep sponges from harboring germs and bacteria 1 , they should be cleaned daily (if you don't use a sponge daily, make sure you clean it each day you do use it).
Things You'll Need
There are three different methods for cleaning your sponge: bleach, a microwave, or a dishwasher. Here's what you'll need for each.
Method 1: Bleach
As one of the strongest cleaners out there, cleaning your sponge with bleach is an easy win that can also clean and sanitize your kitchen sink too.
Method 2: Microwave
A fast and easy sponge-cleaning solution comes in one of the most multipurpose kitchen tools—the microwave.
Method 3: Dishwasher
This method takes the longest, but it also has the least amount of work involved, making it a great choice for lazy, late-night clean ups.
How to Keep Your Sponges Clean Longer
One of the best ways to extend your sponge's life depends on the way you store it. Excess moisture over long periods of time can harbor bacteria and germs, ensuring your sponge will need to be thrown out sooner rather than later.
2. Replace Used Sponges Regularly
When it comes to replacing your sponges, the old saying “out of sight out of mind” definitely applies. If you keep a sponge for too long, you’ll be more likely to forget about it until that unpleasant odor tells you something needs to be done.
3. Disinfect Sponges Regularly
As with any old item that’s been gathering germs and bacteria for too long, you need to disinfect your sponges regularly as well. You don’t want those gross little things
How to keep sponges clean?
1: Dry your sponge out completely at least once a week to inhibit bacterial growth. The best method to dry it out is setting it in the sun as the sun gives extra antibacterial power. 1: Sanitize your sponge at least once a week in the top rack of the dishwasher or heat it up in a bowl of water in the microwave. 4:Completely replace your sponge with a brand new one every four weeks. (This method should be applied to cleaning tools for dish washing as well.)
What to do if your sponge doesn't smell?
If something doesn’t smell right with your sponge or any cleaning tool, this is definitely time to give it a cleaning . This is probably the easiest way to determine if you are spreading germs around instead of picking them up.
What can you use a sponge for?
One thing you really don’t want to do with your sponge is use it to clean the dishes and the counter tops. This is a fast way to fill your kitchen full of bacteria and can lead to illness if you are cleaning up juices from raw meat on the countertop with your dish sponge.
Do kitchen sponges have germs?
Did you know a simple kitchen sponge often houses more germs than the toilet seat!? In most homes our sponges are not being cleaned enough and they end up hosting a large number of very yucky germs that end up getting spread over any surface they touch.
