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Be vigilant about keeping sponges clean and bacteria-free. To get kitchen sponges really clean, wash them in the washing machine -- not the dishwasher. Alternately, soak them in a small dish with enough water to cover the sponge and two tablespoons of chlorine bleach.
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Reader comments (Page 1 of 2)
Its the chlorine bleach that does the trick, but make sure it gets squished all the way through the sponge.
ReplyDishsoap & boiling hot water will also do the trick. It's the BOILING water that does the trick.
Throw them away and use paper towels. It's the "throwing away" that does the trick!!!
the catch line for this article said "why you shouldn't put your sponge in the dishwasher", but it didn't explain the "why" part. I want to know why you shouldn't put sponges in the dishwasher.
ReplyI agree, the old bait and switch, actually I cant see how it would be cleaner in the washing machine. Unless you have a sanitizer and a super efficient washing machine things dont get as clean as most people think in there. and you'd have to use super hot water. Doesnt make sense to me.
I agree with you
My thoughts exactly!! If the title says "why" then I want to know why! Sorry for all the exclamations, but this is one of my pet peeves...
I want to know why too. I've always been putting them in the dishwasher. I wonder if it just spreads the germs around.
Why? A dishwasher sprays water with detergent onto glasslike surfaces and rinses these hard surfaces clean by the end of the washing cycle. When you put a sponge into a dishwasher, the dishwasher sprays water with detergent onto the sponge but does little to kill the bacteria within the sponge, let alone get the sponge clean. The sponge absorbs the dirty dishwasher water and holds it within the sponge rather than releasing it. However, when you put a dirty sponge into a clotheswasher the spin cycles squeezes the dirty water out of the sponge. Then there's a rinse cycle and the next spin cycle helps to remove the grime from the sponge. The dishwasher can't do that.
i just saw an ad on tv for a kitchen sponge, and in the ad they say to wash it with your dishes. I do my sponges - each time I run the dishwasher. I wonder why the article doesn't say why not.
- A dish washer only throw the dirty water back on the sponge.
- Agitating and spinning assists in the actual cleaning.
- Always put it in the washer with items that need bleach and hot water.
- Another idea is - - use a laundry bag, it helps keep the sponge in tact longer.
I give why not?
ReplyI don't want the grease from my sponges mixed in with my clothes! It doesn't make any sense to me to put my sponges in the washer unless I do a whole load with nothing but a couple of sponges in it. This article needs to be amended to say why the dishwasher is not recommended.
Replysomeone once told me to put them in the microwave for a minute, i've done that and it seems to be ok
I agree if were trying to be energy efficent washing just a few sponges in the dishwasher would be a waste. I have heard to kill bacteria throw it in the micorwave for a few it does the trick.
I have also heard the microwave tip. It seems to be the easiest.
Replyi have always used the dishwasher for sponges. it seems to do a good job. tell us why not.
ReplyI agree...you eat off the dishes in the dishwasher..you wipe up off counters with the sponge
why not the dishwasher....they really should explane
How to make a reader MAD. . . WHY shouldn't sponges be put in the dishwasher?
- A dish washer only throw the dirty water back on the sponge.
- Agitating and spinning assists in the actual cleaning.
- Always put it in the washer with items that need bleach and hot water.
- Another idea is - - use a laundry bag, it helps keep the sponge in tact longer.