How can I clean a smelly kitchen sponge?
By Kim
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I run mine through the dishwasher make sure it is secure in top shelf. I wedge it between other items. Also sometimes I add water and dish soap and place in microwave for 1 minute or 45 seconds as the media has reported this to sterilize it.
Check the correct time my time is an estimate. The dishwasher works great.
Kitchen sponges are awful harborers of bacteria. The only way to safely use them is to wash them in your washer every day just like you would a dish cloth.
Are there any alternatives to kitchen sponges that are easier/better to use?
Make a container of soapy bleach-water or soapy vinegar-water. Soak the sponge between uses, or at least one time per day. Wring out the sponge before use. Both kill bacteria that would otherwise live in the sponge.
I use Clorox Cleanup a lot in my kitchen. It is a spray cleaner that has bleach in it. Every morning I spray the cleaner on the sponge, squeeze the sponge all over the place to work the cleaner all the way through it, then rinse the sponge.
I don't use them because they are not easy to clean. I prefer HandiWipes, even the generic ones from the Dollar Tree. They can be rinsed and they stay cleaner.
But the other advice all work, too!
Ditto Meoowmom. I do both of those and I buy my sponges at the Dollar Tree stores for 2/$1, the ones with the scouring side to them. They wash really well in the dish washer, in a pinch I just slip it into the microwave for a minute and voila! No more smell.
You can microwave a wet sponge for 2 minutes to sterilize it. If not wet it can catch on fire. :(
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