Should you replace your sponge every week? Here is what science says

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a sticker out of security. (Always wear a bicycle helmet, friends!) This also applies to food safety – I always Test the temperature of meat and other foods To ensure that you are completely cooked, pack my picnic coolers with ice cream and use separate cutting boards to avoid cross contamination. But even with my regulations and passion for peace of mind, I had never thought much about it Kitchen sponges. I use a cell phone Caddy sink To keep them organized, throw them when they become Grungy, and that is. I recently spoke to an expert in food safety to find out how dirty kitchen sponges become – and it turns out that most people do not take care of their sponges as often or replace their sponges as often as experts recommend.

How dirty sponges really get?

Hypothetically, kitchen sponges should Stay pretty clean – you in hot every day, you duck them every day. Soap waterAnd what could be cleaner than that? The main problem for sponges is that the same thing that makes you so effective when washing – your absorption – you also make you the perfect breeding ground for microorganisms.

“Sponges are the perfect place for bacteria to grow,” says Karen Fifield, Food Safety educators at the Michigan State University Extension. “We don’t keep them super hot, we don’t keep them super cold and they are not always dry. The moisture and the temperature make a sponge the ideal place for bacteria to grow.”

The wet, dark surroundings and food residues in a sponge can encourage microbes to grow. Most of them are relatively harmless environmental bacteria that live all around us, but sponges can also hang pathogens such as hanging CampylobacterPresent SalmonellaPresent StaphylococcusPresent E. coli, And Listeria. This means that theoretically, you could increase the risk of cross -contamination in your kitchen. If you do not treat your sponge properly by not getting out or leaving it on the bottom of a wet sink, this growth can be accelerated.

The best way to clean a sponge

The good news: you may Clean a sponge to eliminate practically all bacteria that may hide there. The USDA Recommends two methods as the most effective: cracking your sponge in the microwave or in the dishwasher. According to their tests, these methods removed 99,99999 or 99.998% of the bacteria from sponges.

To use the microwave to disinfect a sponge, first make sure that your sponge has no metallic fibers (usually in his peeling pad, if he has one) – if this is the case, skip this method. Sate the sponge with water to prevent it from catching fire, and microwaves then on the height for a minute or two.

To use the dishwasher, put the sponge on the upper rack and make sure that when you run the cycle you “heat up” and/or “sanitize”. “I don’t have a dishwasher,” says Fifield. “But if I did that, I would wash my sponge in it every day.”

The MSU expansion Offers another option to clean your dirty sponge: combine in a bowl 1/4 teaspoon of concentrated food-safe chlorine bleach (8.25% hypochlorite) with one liter warm (not hot!) Water. Add your sponge and let it soak for a minute. This is the method that Feanield uses: at home she bleachs her sponges and tea towels in the sink with a teaspoon of bleach and a gallon warm water after making the dishes.

This is how you reduce bacteria in your sponge

Another way to prevent bacteria from accumulating in their sponge is to wring them thoroughly after each use and to place them somewhere where it air, e.g. B. on a wire sponge holder. A wet sponge worsens faster than a dryer, so

If you use a sponge to clean surfaces, Fifield says that it is not a bad idea of ​​having separate sponges for dishes and worktops. However, you can use the same sponge for both tasks if you listen to it regularly.

In all cases, however, you should avoid using a sponge to wipe juices from raw meat or poultry, as these are a breeding ground for pathogens. Instead, use a paper towel with a cleaner or food disinfection for this task. These options are also better suited for cleaning your worktops, since a sponge can unintentionally distribute bacteria on your work surfaces on your work surfaces.

When does your sponge replace

Even with careful drying and regular disinfection, no sponge will take forever. The official council is to change sponges weekly, a recommendation that should eliminate almost every risk, which, as we have to admit, is also quite wasteful. If your sponge falls apart (the food can be locked in tears or holes under the peeling pad), black mold spots on the surface, begin to smell or feel slimy, is far to replace it.

We are unable to contradict the official guidance, but if you believe that you are unlikely that you will follow a weekly sponge-hopping routine, at least think how easy it is to disinfect sponges as described above. You can also consider the editorial director as a serious Eats Associate. MeganDo and cut your sponges in half before use to get more mileage from each individual.