How to Clean Kitchen Sponges
Kitchen sponges have a lot of bacteria on them. Nobody wants to do their dishes with dirty sponges, but the idea of prolonging the life of a sponge is very attractive.
5-Minute Crafts is going to tell you about the good ways of prolonging the life of your kitchen sponges.
How to use
There are several rules you should follow to take care of your kitchen sponges. The most important ones are about how to use them. If you want your sponge to work for as long as possible without becoming a bacteria hub, you should follow these rules:
- Store the sponges in an open area where there’s air circulation. This way, the sponge will dry faster and the bacteria will reproduce slower.
- After doing the dishes, wash the sponge and squeeze it to remove as much water as possible.
- Have 2-3 sponges to be able to let one of them fully dry before using it again.
- If you use gloves when doing the dishes, don’t forget to wash them too. Otherwise, even if your sponges are clean, the bacteria will get on them from the gloves.
How to disinfect your sponges
There are several ways to disinfect your sponges. For example, you can pour boiling water on them or wash them in vinegar. Researchers at Michigan State University recommend other effective ways of disinfection.
- Heat a wet sponge in a microwave oven at the highest power for 1 minute.
- Wash a sponge in a dishwasher at maximum temperature and dry it afterward.
What happens if you don’t take good care of your sponges
According to a study conducted by German scientists, kitchen sponges contain an enormous amount of bacteria on them.
One of the germs found on kitchen sponges can cause infections in people with weak immune systems. You can detect this germ by its unpleasant smell.
Scientists put dirty sponges under a microscope and found that 1 cm3 of a sponge can be covered by billions of bacteria.
How long sponges can be used
