Are You Replacing Your Sponge Often Enough?

You probably use your sponge every day or multiple times a day when it comes to cleaning your dishes. Do you remember to replace your sponge? Although your dishes might look sparkly clean, they could still be harboring some nasty diseases. Even if you use the old microwaving tricks (still good for many other household items) or you run your sponge under boiling hot water, experts say this isn’t enough to rid your sponge of food-borne illnesses.

The only solution? Remember to replace your sponge! Experts in Germany have found that RG2-related bacteria can stay on your sponge even after you clean the hell out of it. Once the bacteria is there, it’s there to stay. So, how often should you replace your sponges? Every week. Sounds a bit costly? We have you covered, we found a 40 Pack of sponges for $10.99 on Amazon!

The experts shared their thoughts about the cleanliness of a dishwashing sponge, despite extra efforts to keep it hygienic. They said, “From a long-term perspective, sponge sanitation methods appear not sufficient to effectively reduce the bacterial load in kitchen sponges and might even increase the shares of RG2-related bacteria.”

Furthermore, the same professionals suggested that we swap out our sponges every week. They have also stated that it’s a lot more affordable than people think, especially if you just buy a variety pack from your local grocery store or retailer.

However, if you’re not looking to replace your sponge every week, Good Housekeeping did suggest an alternative! Just mix a 3/4 cup bleach in a gallon of water and soak your sponge for five minutes. It should help kill some germs between your sponge replacements and maybe change your replacement period from every week to every other week!

Despite the alternative solution, your sponges won’t last forever. If you need to wait on replacing your sponges, two to three weeks is the maximum time frame you should be keeping your sponges. Another alternate method is to soak your sponge in vinegar for five minutes, then rinse. It should kill about 99.6% of bacteria, but still not as strong as the bleach treatment. You may also run your sponge through the dishwasher.

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