Ought to You Change Your Sponge Each Week? This is What the Science Says

Anybody who is aware of me is aware of I am a stickler for security. (All the time put on a motorbike helmet, pals!) This additionally applies to meals security—I all the time take a look at the temperature of meat and different meals to make sure they’re absolutely cooked, pack my picnic coolers with ice, and use separate chopping boards to stop cross-contamination. However even with my rule-following tendencies and fervour for peace of thoughts, I had by no means given a lot thought to kitchen sponges. I exploit a useful sink caddy to maintain them organized, toss them after they get grungy, and that is that. Lately, I spoke with a meals security skilled to learn the way soiled kitchen sponges turn into—and it seems that most individuals aren’t caring for or changing their sponges as typically as specialists suggest.

How Soiled Do Sponges Get, Actually?

Hypothetically, kitchen sponges ought to keep fairly clear—you douse them day by day in scorching, soapy water, and what might be cleaner than that? The principle challenge with sponges is that the identical factor that makes them so efficient at washing—their absorbency—additionally makes them the right breeding floor for microorganisms. 

“Sponges are the right place for micro organism to develop,” Karen Fifield, Meals Security Educator on the Michigan State College Extension, tells me. “We do not hold them tremendous scorching, we don’t hold them tremendous chilly, they usually’re not all the time dry. The moisture and temperature make a sponge the best spot for micro organism to develop.” 

The moist, darkish surroundings and meals residues inside a sponge can encourage microbes to develop. Most of those are comparatively innocent environmental micro organism that dwell throughout us, however sponges may harbor pathogens similar to Campylobacter, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, E. coli, and Listeria. Meaning they might, in principle, enhance the chance of cross-contamination in your kitchen. Should you do not deal with your sponge proper, similar to by not wringing it out or leaving it on the backside of a moist sink, that development will be accelerated. 

The Greatest Solution to Clear a Sponge

The excellent news: You can clear a sponge to eradicate nearly all the micro organism that may be hiding there. The USDA recommends two strategies as the simplest: popping your sponge within the microwave or the dishwasher. In response to their testing, these strategies eliminated 99.99999 and 99.9998% % of micro organism from sponges, respectively.

To make use of the microwave to sanitize a sponge, first be sure that your sponge does not have any metallic fibers (normally in its scrub pad, if it has one)—if it does, skip this technique. Saturate the sponge with water to stop it from catching hearth, then microwave it on excessive for one to 2 minutes. 

To make use of the dishwasher, place the sponge on the highest rack and be sure to use a “heated dry” and/or “sanitize” setting when working the cycle. “I haven’t got a dishwasher,” Fifield tells me. “But when I did, I’d wash my sponge in it day by day.”

The MSU Extension presents yet one more possibility to wash your soiled sponge: In a bowl, mix 1/4 teaspoon of concentrated food-safe chlorine bleach (8.25% hypochlorite) with one quart of heat (not scorching!) water. Add your sponge and let it soak for one minute. That is the strategy Fifield makes use of: At residence, she bleaches her sponges and dishcloths within the sink with one teaspoon of bleach and one gallon of heat water after doing the dishes.

The way to Cut back Micro organism in Your Sponge

One other option to stop micro organism from accumulating in your sponge is to wring it completely after every use and place it someplace it may air dry on all sides, similar to on a wire sponge holder. A moist sponge will deteriorate extra quickly than a dry one, so drying your sponge completely between makes use of will assist it last more. 

Should you use a sponge to wash surfaces, Fifield says it is not a foul thought to have separate sponges for dishes and counter tops. Nevertheless, you should utilize the identical sponge for each duties in case you’re sanitizing it often.

In all cases, nonetheless, it’s best to keep away from utilizing a sponge to wipe up juices from uncooked meat or poultry, as these are a hotbed for pathogens. As a substitute, use a paper towel with a cleaner or food-grade sanitizing wipe for this job. These choices are additionally higher for cleansing your counter tops, as a sponge can unwittingly unfold micro organism round in your work surfaces. 

When to Change Your Sponge

Even with cautious drying and common sanitizing, no sponge will final ceaselessly. The official recommendation is to alter sponges weekly, a suggestion designed to eradicate virtually any danger, which, we now have to confess, can be fairly wasteful. Clearly, in case your sponge is visibly falling aside (meals can get trapped in tears or holes below the scrub pad), has black mould spots on the floor, begins to odor, or feels slimy, it is nicely previous time to interchange it.

We aren’t able to contradict the official steerage, however in case you suppose you are unlikely to observe a weekly sponge-swapping routine, not less than remember how simple it’s to sanitize sponges as described above and make a degree of doing so. You can too contemplate doing as Severe Eats affiliate editorial director, Megan, does, and minimize your sponges in half earlier than use to get extra mileage out of every one.