I'm certain you must have seen somewhere someone talking about keeping your kitchen sponges clean.
I am also certain I assumed it was common sense to keep your sponges clean, well maybe the term
would be disinfected.
If you Google "how to clean your sponge" the responses are many and varied. Mostly they
suggest the microwave or bleach. Some of the responses even tell you they've studied it and the
results are to do this or that. Others will tell you to use antibacterial soap and some to put in the dishwasher.
Some of these are valid and honestly each website says something different. Each website also says
that they studied this and that and this works better then that. OH WOW!
Something interesting to point out is the sponge makers on the dish sponge package instructs you
to DO NOT MICROWAVE the sponge!!!!! WHOA what, everywhere else suggests the microwave
so what to do? Oh there is a potential for a sponge to catch fire while in the microwave.
I grew up learning that boiling water was the best way to kill germs in the home kitchen
and you know what, I think I am right!
The instructions on some of the sponge packets tells you to boil the sponge and some tell you to rinse the
sponge thoroughly and allow to dry completely, both methods work just fine. The only downfall to allowing the sponge to dry completely is, well it's a sponge - sponges hold onto water and are in frequent use. The other suggestion is to replace the sponge often.
Here are some articles for you to consider:
This first article is a bit scientific and quite honestly I am not scientific at all! But if you are like me and your eyes glaze over then scan the article but read the second last paragraph which pretty much tells you to
boil the sponge for 5 minutes! Link
In this article, Scientific American Blog tells you dirt isn't so bad! No they are not suggesting you leave
your dish sponge dirty, I just want you to realize that spotless and sterile aren't where it's at! Clean yes,
clean is important as we don't want nasty germs infecting every aspect of our lives but being overly
clean isn't the best for us either.
Here is something else most of us learned while we were growing up; When in doubt, throw it out.
I will admit I didn't post a lot of links and the reason is there are as many different responses as there
are links and each one says something different. Many of the links suggested they are debunking myths
and that they are citing studies but most of them are just repeating information with no science to back them up. The only link I found that actually used science was the one I included and here it is again just in case you missed it the first time.
LINK
I am also certain I assumed it was common sense to keep your sponges clean, well maybe the term
would be disinfected.
If you Google "how to clean your sponge" the responses are many and varied. Mostly they
suggest the microwave or bleach. Some of the responses even tell you they've studied it and the
results are to do this or that. Others will tell you to use antibacterial soap and some to put in the dishwasher.
Some of these are valid and honestly each website says something different. Each website also says
that they studied this and that and this works better then that. OH WOW!
Something interesting to point out is the sponge makers on the dish sponge package instructs you
to DO NOT MICROWAVE the sponge!!!!! WHOA what, everywhere else suggests the microwave
so what to do? Oh there is a potential for a sponge to catch fire while in the microwave.
I grew up learning that boiling water was the best way to kill germs in the home kitchen
and you know what, I think I am right!
The instructions on some of the sponge packets tells you to boil the sponge and some tell you to rinse the
sponge thoroughly and allow to dry completely, both methods work just fine. The only downfall to allowing the sponge to dry completely is, well it's a sponge - sponges hold onto water and are in frequent use. The other suggestion is to replace the sponge often.
Here are some articles for you to consider:
This first article is a bit scientific and quite honestly I am not scientific at all! But if you are like me and your eyes glaze over then scan the article but read the second last paragraph which pretty much tells you to
boil the sponge for 5 minutes! Link
In this article, Scientific American Blog tells you dirt isn't so bad! No they are not suggesting you leave
your dish sponge dirty, I just want you to realize that spotless and sterile aren't where it's at! Clean yes,
clean is important as we don't want nasty germs infecting every aspect of our lives but being overly
clean isn't the best for us either.
Here is something else most of us learned while we were growing up; When in doubt, throw it out.
I will admit I didn't post a lot of links and the reason is there are as many different responses as there
are links and each one says something different. Many of the links suggested they are debunking myths
and that they are citing studies but most of them are just repeating information with no science to back them up. The only link I found that actually used science was the one I included and here it is again just in case you missed it the first time.
LINK
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