Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Stinky Kitchen Sponge No More
Chemical Free Stinky Kitchen Maagement (you tube)
OK, we all know the sponge we use to wash dishes or clean things with can get rather gross. There are some really easy steps you can take to keep your sponge clean and fresh and everything you need is likely right in your kitchen.
It is pretty convenient to just through it in the hot dishwasher to clean it with the dishes but what if you don't have or use a dishwasher? If you are not using the hot water setting on your dishwasher it may not be doing much good anyway. The same is true about putting your sponge in the washer with your clothes. The washer is just not hot enough and putting your stinky dish sponge in the dryer with your clothes is just a bad idea. The reason your sponge smells the way it does is because it is teaming with life, mostly bacteria. Using chemicals can clean it pretty good but they don't kill everything & they can also dry out your skin with their toxic properties.
I have come to find that the best way to control biological pests is simply to make their environment as uninhabitable as possible. It is always good to let your sponge dry out when you are not using it. If you just leave it lying flat on a counter it will be wet all the time, a great environment for bacteria. The same is true for your shower by leaving it closed all the time. It is the wet & humid environment that promotes bacteria and mold growth. A small basket for your sponge will promote drying and reduce the chance of bacteria growth. Even just standing it up and leaning it against the wall will help. Drying alone helps reduce the bacteria in your sponge dramatically but over time, vibrant strains of stinky bacteria will multiply & thrive.
I don't have a dishwasher and I don't want my clothes to smell like a dish sponge. In addition to drying out my sponge when it's not in use I like to sterilize it with heat on a regular basis. If you put your sponge in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes it will be sterilized. After I am done boiling noodles or steaming vegetables, I put my sponge in the boiling water and let it "cook". I also do a pretty good job of sterilizing my sponge in a microwave. After I wash the dishes in the morning I wrap my moist sponge in a paper towel and microwave it for about a minute. Two minutes in a microwave will nearly sterilize the sponge but one minute does a really good job of killing most everything in the sponge. When it is good and hot, out of the microwave, I put it in my little sponge basket and it dries out in no time. No more stinky sponge!
OK, we all know the sponge we use to wash dishes or clean things with can get rather gross. There are some really easy steps you can take to keep your sponge clean and fresh and everything you need is likely right in your kitchen.
It is pretty convenient to just through it in the hot dishwasher to clean it with the dishes but what if you don't have or use a dishwasher? If you are not using the hot water setting on your dishwasher it may not be doing much good anyway. The same is true about putting your sponge in the washer with your clothes. The washer is just not hot enough and putting your stinky dish sponge in the dryer with your clothes is just a bad idea. The reason your sponge smells the way it does is because it is teaming with life, mostly bacteria. Using chemicals can clean it pretty good but they don't kill everything & they can also dry out your skin with their toxic properties.
I have come to find that the best way to control biological pests is simply to make their environment as uninhabitable as possible. It is always good to let your sponge dry out when you are not using it. If you just leave it lying flat on a counter it will be wet all the time, a great environment for bacteria. The same is true for your shower by leaving it closed all the time. It is the wet & humid environment that promotes bacteria and mold growth. A small basket for your sponge will promote drying and reduce the chance of bacteria growth. Even just standing it up and leaning it against the wall will help. Drying alone helps reduce the bacteria in your sponge dramatically but over time, vibrant strains of stinky bacteria will multiply & thrive.
I don't have a dishwasher and I don't want my clothes to smell like a dish sponge. In addition to drying out my sponge when it's not in use I like to sterilize it with heat on a regular basis. If you put your sponge in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes it will be sterilized. After I am done boiling noodles or steaming vegetables, I put my sponge in the boiling water and let it "cook". I also do a pretty good job of sterilizing my sponge in a microwave. After I wash the dishes in the morning I wrap my moist sponge in a paper towel and microwave it for about a minute. Two minutes in a microwave will nearly sterilize the sponge but one minute does a really good job of killing most everything in the sponge. When it is good and hot, out of the microwave, I put it in my little sponge basket and it dries out in no time. No more stinky sponge!
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