Cleaning Sponges

**Savin' Moola** · 01-05-2006, 01:42 PM

This morning on the CBS Morning Show there was a segment on the dirtiest
room in our homes....the KITCHEN. To clean a sponge in the micro it was
recommended to put water in a bowl, submerge the sponge and nuke for 1
minute to kill the bacteria. Cool it down, wring it out and air dry.
Otherwise put it in a cup of water with 1 oz of bleach and submerge for
about a minute, rinse and air dry. Air drying is important because no
nasties can live in a dry sponge. Same thing for a dishrag, to soak,

rinse and airdry.

Kandy

**Savin' Moola** · 01-05-2006, 01:42 PM

If I recll correctly, Cook's Illustrated did a test on this process a
few months ago. Nuking the sponge did the best job of killing off
any resident nasties.

Wonder if it works on dishrags...

Vince

**Savin' Moola** · 01-05-2006, 01:42 PM

I have been putting my sponges in the dishwasher when I run it at the
end of the day. Is this noneffective in killing bacteria? If so,
I'd better find a different method.

Rachel

**Savin' Moola** · 01-05-2006, 01:42 PM

I put mine in the dishwasher all the time....got to be killing germs or our
dishes wound't be sanitary ...

lexi

**Savin' Moola** · 01-05-2006, 01:43 PM

I put mine in the dishwasher all the time....got to be killing germs or our
dishes wound't be sanitary ...

I don't know if this is true. There is a difference between dishes which are
are non-porous, and a sponge which is definitely porous. I wouldn't think that
the water in a dishwasher would be hot enough to kill "germs" hidden in a
sponge, especially if it came out of the dishwasher still wet. Maybe if it
dried completely between uses?

**Savin' Moola** · 01-05-2006, 01:43 PM

Hi all,
My name is Janice and I'm a newbie here. I'm learning all kinds of new
things and am quickly becoming hooked on the frugal way of life! I'm looking
forward to meeting everyone and learning lots of new stuff!
God Bless,
Janice

**Savin' Moola** · 01-05-2006, 01:43 PM

The gentleman on CBS This Morning didn't mention cleaning a sponge in a
dishwasher. What he did say about microwaving without using the bowl of
water/bleach is that a micro creates "hot spots", thus it will not
disinfect the whole sponge. Also it has to dry completely so that the
"nasties" don't have an environment in which to thrive.
Kandy