How To Clean A Sponge Without A Dishwasher: The Best Ways
Whether you’re a believer or not, a cleaning sponge is one of the filthiest items in the kitchen. Not only is your sponge damp and moist, but it’s also covered with food debris, making it easier to for disease-causing bacteria to dwell in it. Plus, you’re giving these bacteria chances to grow. So, what do you do? Learn how to clean a dish sponge to eliminate unwanted bacteria growth and stop spreading foodborne diseases. In this article, we will teach you how to clean a sponge without a dishwasher. We will also share the health risks of dirty kitchen sponges and give some tips on when to replace them.
Best Way to Sanitize Kitchen Sponges
Nobody likes using a germy kitchen sponge to clean dishes. That is why we should disinfect our kitchen cleaning tools regularly. But how do you disinfect a kitchen sponge? Before dumping kitchen sponges on the trash bag, here’s how to clean a sponge without a dishwasher:
Using Vinegar
It is easier and quicker to do the first technique. You can disinfect your sponges and scrub brushes. All you need is a bit of white vinegar to do this hack.
- In a bucket occupied with white vinegar, soak your sponges and brushes overnight.
- Wash the sponges and cleaning brushes.
- Before taking them out in the morning, squeeze any remaining watery solution, and they’ll be ready to use.
Vinegar’s acetic acid components destroy bacteria and remove odors. It also improves the cleaning brushes and sponge’s quality. The transmission of microbes in your house is minimized. It is much effective than the much-publicized microwave method of heating sponges and cleaning brushes. If the sponges are not moist enough or cardboard pieces in the scrub brushes, they might start a fire.
Using Bleach
In one gallon of water, pour 3/4 cup bleach and damp the sponge for five minutes, then wash, and you’re done. You can kill 99.9 percent of the three bacteria strains from the sponges, scrub, and common cellulose using the diluted bleach. These are the EPA criteria and benchmarks focused on non-food-contact site disinfection.
Your kitchen sponges can’t go on forever, no matter how equipped you are about washing your sponges. Based on its use, clean them regularly. You can also throw untidy ones every two to three weeks.
Using Microwave
You can also put a kitchen sponge into the microwave if you are not fortunate enough to have a dishwasher. Whenever you choose to give it a simple but successful cleaning, you can try this technique. But remember to get rid of as many crumbs and other food waste as necessary before popping it like your typical popcorn tub. Soak it with ample water but not leaking, and then squeeze it for about a minute, tops.
There’s a chance your kitchen sponge to burn, so watch it closely inside the microwave and allow it to cool before using again.
Health Risks with Dirty Kitchen Sponges
Your sponges are the main concern here and from which bacteria come from. Kitchen sponges are notorious for doing many house chores, and there is a huge chance of food-contamination. Many individuals use the same sponge to wash dishes as they prepare a meal or washing up a kitchen counter. This assumes that you are using the same equipment to scrub your plates and bowls to clear away raw and possibly harmful food residues. This much bacteria will make you ill. That's why you should know how to clean a sponge without a dishwasher.
I’m talking about E. Coli and salmonella as two highly common organisms that cause diseases. Campylobacter is also a type of bacterial diarrhea, affecting almost 1.3 million diseases per year in the U.S.
When to Replace Your Sponges and Scrubbers
Even if you already know how to clean a sponge without a dishwasher, there are some reasons you shouldn’t keep your kitchen sponge. A sponge or scrubber must be discarded anytime, from every two weeks to two months, regardless of how often you use it. Two weeks can seem long enough, so keeping your sponges cleaned is imperative. If you keep your sponges clean, you will be able to sustain them before they wear out. You can avoid having an illness by using a different sponge for each area. Using a different sponge for your dishes, floors, toilets, etc., will help prevent bacteria from spreading and extending your sponge or scrubber’s period.
Do You Clean Your Kitchen Sponges Daily
Consider microfiber while you’re searching for a new cleaner dish sponge to substitute your worn-out one. Most microfiber sponges provide no claim of minimizing bacteria, but the material’s structure allows rapid drying. This ensures that it does not remain damp after using a microfiber sponge as it would as a cellulose sponge. It can shorten the time with which harmful organisms grow. It is easy to find microfiber sponges online or in your local convenience store, plus they are inexpensive.
You can minimize transmitting bacteria across your kitchen by a dry dish sponge. Put one to two minutes of a soaked sponge in the microwave, checking up on it while the microwave is on. Before extracting it, give it time to cool. As long as you are using a warmed dry sponge, you clean your dishes.
Conclusion
How long has it been since you cleaned or replaced your kitchen sponge? It’s only imperative to learn how to clean a sponge without a dishwasher properly. Now you know how to keep your kitchen cleaner and safer, as well as learned some information about sponge bacteria.
