How do you wash your dish sponge?

[MamaBearTeacher]

In the washing machine or the dishwasher. I wash mine in the washing machine but they usually fall apart after one or two washes and I have to throw them out. Is the dishwasher better? What I have always wondered is that they say it is so important to wash the sponge because it is full of bacteria but can it not be sanitized in the hot water from the tap? Is this water just not hot enough? It is hot enough to get the dishes and the sink clean.

[Spryte]

I run it through the dishwasher every time I do dishes. And sometimes I microwave it after that.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I microwave it and soak it in whatever germ cleaning product I have around.  They don't last long so yeah I do buy new ones fairly regularly.

 

 

[FaithManor]

I must confess. I don't. I have a spray bottle of vinegar and peroxide water with lemon oil next to the sink. I spritz and rinse it for a week, and then toss because I use the ones that are 6 for $1.00 at the dollar store. Normally I am a reuse, recycle as much as possible person, but the boys stain up and destroy my dish cloths and more expensive sponges something awful - not uncommon to have one get used to clean up something like excess super jet fuel or an epoxy oops when building rockets and other science projects - so this helps me stay happy.

 

I have a friend who runs hers through the dishwasher once a week with supper dishes. I would imagine it does a fair job because the water is heated quite hot, the soap is caustic, and then the heat/drying cycle so probably the bacteria is killed pretty thoroughly.

[Guest]

I wash my housecleaning sponges in the washing machine with the other cleaning towels and my dish sponge in the dishwasher, occasionally throwing it in the microwave. None of my sponges have fallen apart on me and I normally replace them...well, I probably keep them longer than I should. We aren't overly sanitary, but no one has died yet...

[zoobie]

I don't use sponges for that reason. I use IKEA scrub brushes that go through the dishwasher each time and microfiber towels that can be washed.

[Pink and Green Mom]

I put mine in the dishwasher every time I run it. I use the kind with the scrubby side (the yellow and green one) so I'm afraid to put it in the microwave. I usually replace every 2 weeks.  Sometimes they get so nasty and smelly.  My kids have a tendency to leave them soaking wet face down in sink rather than air dry them on the little holder thingy on the side of the sink so they can get gross fast.

[Stacia]

I run mine through the dishwasher every few days.

 

Mine last a long time before I need to replace them.

[Tap]

Everyday, all the used kitchen towels and sponges go into the need-to-be-wash bucket. New ones are used the next day. They are washed in the clothes washer on hot water with a bit of bleach.

 

If one gets funky during the day, it is microwaved or a fresh one is used. No sponge or wash cloth is used for longer than one day. 

 

 (awkward wording changed)

Edited June 21, 2016 by Tap

[Upptacka]

I ditched sponges years ago. I have a big basket of washcloths......I use them once and then wash them along with my kitchen towels once a week. Most of them are 4 years old now and still going strong.

[aaplank]

I wet the sponge and get it soapy with dish detergent. Then I microwave it for 2 minutes. Lasts for quite a while that way.

[katilac]

I wet the sponge and get it soapy with dish detergent. Then I microwave it for 2 minutes. Lasts for quite a while that way.

 

This is what we do as well. Sometimes we don't get it soapy first. 

[Melissa in Australia]

I don't use a sponge, but a cotton dishcloth that I put through the washing machine every day.

[shawthorne44]

Microwave a wet sponge.  

[fraidycat]

I don't use sponges. I use cloths. They get used, hung to dry, then tossed in the dirty laundry pile.

 

I might use the same cloth for brunch and supper dishes, but at the end of the day, it's off duty until it has been through the wash.

 

My scrubby gets washed in the dishwasher a couple times per week.

[Seasider]

I run it through the dishwasher every time I do dishes. And sometimes I microwave it after that.

Same but in reverse order - microwave for a minute, then throw in the dishwasher with the evening load.

 

I do use sponges for bathroom cleaning, those I wash in the clothes washing machine with other cleaning rags.

[redsquirrel]

I don't trust sponges.  Even when you microwave them they still stink. If you put your nose up to them when they've been through the microwave, they still smell bad. Or the moment you get them wet again they stink again. If they stink then the germs are still there. 

 

I knit cotton dishclothes and I use several a day. They are dirt cheap to make and they last forever.  I put them through the washing machine in their own load, with hot water, detergent, and bleach. I then put them through the drier. The do not stink after that, even when I get them wet again. 

[J-rap]

You mean just a regular old kitchen sponge?  We're supposed to wash them?  :eek:

 

Well, I always rinse them well with hot soapy water or something like Ajax cleanser after each use.  I use them until they start to look bad, and then I throw them away. 

[nd293]

For the most part I use cloths not sponges, as I feel that something that dries out completely has to be more hygienic than something that remains moist. I buy the extra strong dishwashing cloths and cut them in half and keep them in a tub under the sink. I throw cloths I've used into the washing machine every few days. A pack will last me about a year before they start to disintegrate.

 

For scouring I mostly use a metal pot scourer thing and I just wash that with hot water and soap.

 

There isn't much I need the sponge for, just for scraping stubborn dirt off a non-stick pan. Usually I just use baking soda and a cloth, so if I do buy the occasional sponge it's just washed with hot water and soap and allowed to dry out.

[6packofun]

I don't.  We use them for 4-7 days, monitoring how stinky they get and always giving them a good rinsing (washing?) of hot soapy water at the end of each day.  Then we toss them out.  But I don't bother doing anything with the dishwasher or microwave because we buy them in bulk so 1-2 a week isn't bad.  I use paper towels for the counters, although I'd like to start using cloths to save some trees.  lol

Edited June 21, 2016 by 6packofun

[theelfqueen]

I have two at a time. One in the dishwasher, one in use. When the dishes her is emptied they get swapped.

[mamiof5]

Hot water and soap. Microwave it when/if I think of it. I know there's so much talk about it, but (knock on wood) we've all had very decent immune systems. I don't use the dishwasher, don't stress much about the sponge... we've been fine, and rarely ever come down with something

[mamiof5]

You mean just a regular old kitchen sponge? We're supposed to wash them? :eek:

 

Well, I always rinse them well with hot soapy water or something like Ajax cleanser after each use. I use them until they start to look bad, and then I throw them away.

Same here :)

[Liz CA]

Boil in hot water for several minutes. Dishwasher may have the same effect.

[Soror]

I'm not generally a germ freak but I've seen too much info about how nasty sponges get so I don't use a rag or a sponge longer than a day, after that they just get thrown in the washer. I mostly uses rags and I've read that they aren't as germy as sponges but better safe than sorry.

[Chris in VA]

Dh still buys them. I nuke in ghe microwave after washing with dish soap, but he still doesn't really get it clean.

I bought 10 or so dishcloths from the Dollar Store several years ago and set them in a basket on the counter. I grab a fresh one about every time I wipe counters or do dishes, so 1-3 a day.

[AngieW in Texas]

I put my sponge in the dishwasher every time I run a load. Occasionally I microwave it also.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I don't use sponges for that reason. I use IKEA scrub brushes that go through the dishwasher each time and microfiber towels that can be washed.

 

I tried this, but this isn't so great for greasy pans.  And that's the bulk of what I have to wash by hand.  The dishes themselves go into the dish washer.

[tm919]

I do the microwave thing, but really, they don't last long!

[Mom-ninja.]

I soak it in vinegar and microwave it. I also don't use for anything except washing dishes. I use cleaning rags for counters. If raw meat is involved I use paper towels.  

Edited June 21, 2016 by Mom-ninja.

[zoobie]

I tried this, but this isn't so great for greasy pans.  And that's the bulk of what I have to wash by hand.  The dishes themselves go into the dish washer.

 

Cast iron gets a stainless scrubby thing if there's something stuck, but my pans clean up fine with a soapy scrub brush. The more expensive IKEA ones work better than the cheaper ones. You know, the $1.49 ones instead of the $.79 ones. ;) http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30149556/ The bristles are sturdy and close together. They last a long time too. I haven't been to IKEA in forever. 

[AHASRADA]

Wow, I'm surprised at how many people wash their sponges. I always viewed them as disposable items, so when they smell, I throw them out (usually once a week). Never even thought of putting them in the microwave!

 

Since I didn't like constantly buying and throwing out disposable sponges, I now use "unsponges" or cloth "sponges". They are cotton on one side, terry cloth on the other, and are stuffed with cloth scraps. I use them until they start to smell (usually 3-4 days). Once a week I do a "kitchen cloths" load of laundry (I use unpaper towels too). I soak the smelly unsponges and any stained towels in Oxyclean for a few hours, then launder with the rest of the kitchen cloths. Works great!

 

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[Forget-Me-Not]

I use washcloths that get washed in the washing machine.  I do keep a Scrub Daddy Scrubber for, well, scrubbing :D, and that goes into the dishwasher from time to time.