Your Kitchen Sponge Harbors More Bacteria than Your Toilet Seat: How to Use and Clean It Properly

June 15, 2020

You use sponges for a variety of cleaning tasks, but are your sponges themselves clean? Using a dirty sponge to clean could just be spreading more bacteria around on your surfaces. According to some microbiologists, sponges can often be the most bacteria-covered items in the home - more so than toilet seats. Here is our team’s round-up of sponge do’s and don’ts:

Ring it out. Rinse your sponge to make sure that it is free of all food debris and wring it out to ensure that it is completely dry before storing.
Clean daily. Rinsing alone isn’t enough. Toss them in the top rack of the dishwasher on the heated dry setting or wet them and toss in the microwave for a minute. This will kill 99% of bacteria, yeasts, and molds as well as the types of foodborne pathogens that will make you sick (remember heat kills these pathogens, which is precisely why we cook food).
Replace frequently. Even if you are cleaning your sponge daily, they need to be replaced often. Depending upon how often you are using them, this will be somewhere between every week and every two weeks. If, at any point, you notice the sponge has an odor, toss it immediately.
Store in a dry place. Damp spaces are prime real estate for nasties such as e.coli, mold, and yeast to breed. Keeping your sponges dry between uses is imperative in restricting that growth. Consider a sink mount drain rack or an organizer that attaches to your faucet. Either option gets your sponge off the counter and keeps them drier and cleaner.
Be careful what you’re cleaning with your sponge. Some tasks are better for paper towels or disinfectant wipes. These include cleaning countertops and clearing up meat juice spills. Sponges are too porous and thus may either spread bacteria around or could harbor foodborne pathogens.

Sponges can be a workhorse in your cleaning arsenal, but keeping them clean is mandatory. If not cared for properly, sponges can be THE dirtiest thing in your home. For convenient, helpful sponge racks and other useful kitchen tools, check out the Pro Kitchen Goods shop today.