On the lookout for germs in your kitchen? (Or am I the only one….) Look no further than your kitchen sponge or scrubber or whatever you use on a daily basis to wipe down counters, clean up spills and wash items that you don’t run through your dishwasher (not many of THOSE in my kitchen). I’ve tried different methods of sanitizing, like microwaving and using bleach and did some research to see which was the most effective. It turns out both can work very well in getting rid of bacteria. In my own experience, though, I’ve found that occasionally my scrubber will partially burn in the microwave, which of course smells up the kitchen and gets one sponge in the garbage. Oh, and I had to learn the hard way to remove the wand part because it will melt in the microwave.
Mostly I just use bleach (3/4 cup to one gallon of water and soaking for 5 minutes). According to Good Housekeeping and the EMSL Testing Lab, this method apparently removes 99.9% of bacteria.
Another method is putting the sponge in the dishwasher. You can just pop it in one of the utensil sections each time you run your dishwasher. Be sure to let it stay in throughout the entire wash AND dry cycle. How easy is that?
Also, don’t use your sponges or scrubbers to clean up cutting boards or counters where raw meat has been. Use paper towels or kitchen cloths that can be laundered. For convenience, we now have those great “pop-up” disposable cleaning cloths or to save money, keep a spray bottle with diluted bleach and use with reusable cloths. How easy is that?
None of the research gave a definitive answer on how often you should replace your sponge or scrubber. I don’t need a study to tell me, but I’m thinking if it’s been in your kitchen for a year, it’s technically “gross”.
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