Cleaning Question

I have a collection of crocheted dish rags made of a thick cotton yarn. Easy to make (although mine were gifted to me), I throw it into the washing machine (I suppose I could give it a short soak in a bleach solution). The "weave" is great for cleaning yet open enough to rinse out large particles.

I have two sponges and always keep one in the dishwasher and rotate everytime I put away the clean dishes (so every other day). I feel pretty good about my method because my new dishwasher is set for "sanitize" and gets really hot each time I run it.

I use a dish rag to wash dishes and clean the counter tops and table and I change it out daily. I don't use a sponge for dishes at all. I'd say if you are throwing it in the dishwasher DAILY it should be fine but they DO hold bacteria and bacteria CAN breed very quickly so I wouldn't use the sponge for things like cleaning up raw blood from meats/poultry.

I always heard 2 min in the microwave (wet sponge) kills the germs.

Hi Tammi,

I use a sponge and Dawn Dish Foam (antibacterial) for my larger pans and stuff that doesn't go in the dishwasher. When my sponge becomes stinky or raggety I toss it out and open a new one.

I would go with a rag that you can throw in the washing machine after you do dishes.

I use a sponge but soak it in bleach every now and then. It's not the sponge itself that causes the problem, it's leaving it with water in it on a counter or such without airing it out or killing the germs that harbor the bacteria.

Tammi,

That is okay. What I do is every couple of days is pop it in the microwave for a couple of seconds, it does pretty much the same thing the dishwasher does only faster. I use antibacterial soap and I don't leave it laying on the counter. I have a sponge rack that suctions to the wall and the sponge sits in that and I clean that once a week.
I also replace my sponge every 2 weeks whether it is ready for it or not, just because I want to be sure.

I hope this helped.

S.

I like to use a sponge, even though there is the bacteria issue. I put mine in the dishwasher every time I run it. I also keep a spray bottle of diluted bleach, and soak it with bleach in between (I am a big believer in the power of bleach!).

I remember reading the microwave thing, and I was curious about it, so I looked it up. Here is the link:

http://www.livescience.com/health/070122_microwave.html

2 minutes with a wet sponge does the trick!

I have a draw of old wash clothes to use for my dishwashing and cleaning. I use baking soda to scrub my pots and pans. Sprinkle some in and scrub with a dampened cloth. Works so much better than a brillo and it is non toxic.

I use rags for counters and wash them with my laundry. I use scrub brushes on dishes, plus i have a copper chore boy and a plastic scrubber like a chore boy. i only use sponges for the bathroom now.

I heard this on the John Tesh Radio Show - wet it & nuke it in the microwave on high for 1 minute every 4 days. Here's the info copied from his website:

Methods for Disinfecting a Kitchen Sponge

We're ready to guide you through the cleaning of the single germiest thing in your house. The kitchen sponge. Researchers at the USDA tested four methods of disinfection and we found their results in Prevention magazine.
Here they are from least effective to most effective.

First, know this. To stay safe, you should disinfect your sponge every four days. It’s the perfect breeding ground for bacteria because it’s moist and filled with food particles. So, let’s look at the least effective method of cleaning the kitchen sponge:

You may have heard that soaking it in lemon juice for a minute would rid your sponge of germs. Not so. Soaking it in lemon juice had practically no effect on bacteria, yeast or mold.
Next, the researchers tried soaking the sponge in a bleach solution. It killed more bacteria than the lemon juice, but not all – and it had no effect on yeast or mold.
The third test the researchers tried was to run the sponge through a complete cycle in the dishwasher – including the hot air sanitizing drying cycle. That method was pretty good. It was almost as effective as the #1 solution for disinfecting a kitchen sponge.
Nuking it in the microwave on high for one minute. Doing that kills virtually all bacteria, yeast, and mold. Just make sure the sponge is wet first or it might burn up in the microwave.

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Consider using steam as much as possible. You can buy steam cleaners now at a reasonable price

Hi Tammi! Good question. You are right..sponges can harbor a TON of bacteria. I do all of my cleaning of dishes with dishrags, or dish cloths. I am sure you can buy them anywhere..I like the ones from Crate and Barrel and Williams and Sonoma. I use a new one,or two every day, and wash them with the towels. I also use rags for cleaning the house. I buy stacks of them from Target or Kmart even. If you just make that initial investment, you save a ton of money, b/c you are never throwing anything away. I rarely use paper towels anymore. We use cloth napkins with our meals...and I can't tell you how much money we have saved on paper towels since.
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=210&f=248...

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/l1137/index.cfm?p...

A. :)

Hi I throw my sponge in the dishwasher everytime I run it and if you would like there is a product out on the market that is good. Dawn Wash and Toss, they have dishsoap in them and you can use them and throw them away. Another thought is a dish washing cloth. They are cheap in Walmart andyou can use them just for a day and wash them in washing machine..... Just some thoughts