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You can also run them through the dishwasher, if you have one.

What about using hydrogen peroxide to clean sponges, instead of bleach, for those of us without microwaves? I don't really know the environmental impact of H2O2.

What is a good way to sanitize sponges if you don't have a microwave?

My mom has been doing this for as long as I can remember.

raspberry eggplant

I run mine through the dishwasher every two or three days. You could throw them in the washing machine on hot, too, or just boil the thing for a minute or so.

I always put mine in the dishwasher whenever we run it. Now I'm curious if that's enough.

I don't have a microwave. I occasionally boil my sponges for 20 to 30 minutes. (Speaking of which, they're due for this now!)

I sometimes also let them sit in hydrogen peroxide, but I don't think this is as effective.

Another tip is to replace them once a month. I do this on the first of every month. By the end of the month, they will be breaking down, especially if you are zapping them every week in the microwave. On a related tip, after I sanitize the sponge in the microwave, I wipe down the inside of the microwave - all the steam the sponge produces works wonderfully to get that cooked on grime off the ceiling of the microwave!

I read this on the BBC website several months back and have been doing it ever since.

Be careful doing this, though. Someone here at work once microwaved a sponge that already had that "old sponge" smell, and the entire office smelled horribly of old, moldy sponge for hours.

I put mine through the dishwasher. I can't handle that smell on my sponge, let alone wafting through the air and tainting my microwave!

I know the sponges have been tested, etc., and the germs are definitely in there, but I don't do anything (certainly not daily) and I never have stomach bugs. I ate a lot of dirt as a kid, though. On the other hand my guests never get sick either.

When my sponges start looking grotty I throw them in the washer with the clothes, but that's usually cold water.

I do wash most of my dishes in a dishwasher (not the pots, pans and knives, though).

You know, people are always making these claims about germs! everywhere! horrors! and I never see any evidence that these horror-inducing germs on household items actually make people sick. For example, do families that zap their sponges every week get sick less often than families that don't? If you're using the sponge to wash dishes, then the germs on the dishes get washed away with the soap. If you're using them to wipe down counters, okay, maybe that's a concern. But how much food prep do you actually do on the bare counter? I use a plate, cutting board, whatever for food prep. And aren't you creating selection pressures when you zap sponges that will just force the bacteria to evolve? Isn't it similar to dousing everything with antibacterial cleaners--you breed tougher germs?

I'm just not sure that all this germ hysteria we've got going in the U.S. is actually based on reality.

I'm reading Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck right now... great book. She is not too keen on sponges though, first for the info you just cited. Also, the resources it takes to actually sterilize can be a bit wasteful energy-wise.
She reccomends just using clean dish cloths, and washing them when they are dirty. Less chance of contamination that way, and if it's the scrubbing action you are after, she suggests reusing plastic mesh bags that oranges and onions come in and macguyvering it in to a tube to go on top of the dish cloth.
Kill two birds with one stone!


**also** most dishwashers do not get hot enough to actually kill bacteria, and most dishwasher dryers will not get a spnge dry enough, thus keeping your sponge looking clean, but really wrecking havoc. and it redistributes the bacteria all over the dishes, where they remain alive until dry.

yummy. :)

But...again...to echo my own point and that of STH...is there really a need to sanitize sponges constantly? If I'm not carrying around gross little bits of cat food in mine, that is enough for me. The last time I threw up was when I drank too much tequila out of a perfectly clean glass :-))

My mom used dishcloths. I have been thinking I will go that way just because I won't throw them away the way I eventually do sponges when they start to fall apart (usually at the 6 month mark). But I'm not going to be any more germ conscious of them than I am of my sponges.

Why not get rid of sponges altogether? I mean, what are they made of, anyway? Are they biodegradable? My mom's always used dishcloths to clean the dishes and wipe down the counters, and they last longer than sponges ANY day of the week. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE! (Just throw dishcloths in with your laundry each week, and change them several times a week.)

Plus, I air dry everything that goes into my mouth. I've heard that's much more sanitary than wiping your dishes clean, and it takes so much less effort!

Well, I guess you DO need something to scrub pots and pans with, but I use something other than a sponge. Should I be sanitizing that? How? I OCCASIONALLY use a TINY bit of bleach in my dishwater, at which time I throw all two of my kitchen scrubbers in with the dishes. *smile*

I use my microwave for as little as possible, due to the UV (and other?) rays it emits. Perhaps it's safe, but I still have this freaky notion that the somewhat recent inventions of microwaves, plastic, and other "quick fixes" have contributed to many types of cancer over the years.

Oh, and my mom taught me another trick: use designated towels (kitchen, bath, or otherwise) for each member of the family (color-code them, or what-not) instead of napkins. Not only will that save the environment, but it will cut down on the spread of germs. (Change them daily only if you are sick.) You can keep them neatly folded on your chair, or hang them over the back. They're not as "sightly" as washable napkins, but they do the job just as well.

STH,

I can not agree more with you! No one is getting sick from using sponges so why fix it? Germs are part of life, you can't avoid them.