Washing dirty dishes and plates is made so much easier by using a sponge – but have you ever stopped to wonder how dirty the actual sponge is?
Many of us may not have considered that the very item we’re using to clean may not actually be clean itself – but often sponges can be far more filthy than we realise.
Taking to TikTok, cleaning guru @home_reimagined warned people the “truth” about kitchen sponges “isn’t pretty.”
“Sponges, with their perpetually wet environment and stuck-on food particles, are a breeding ground for over 362 different bacteria,” she said.
“Let’s talk about how to disinfect them.”
First of all, it was recommended to “toss them in the dishwasher and run a regular cycle”. Or, if you’d prefer, you can “Pop them in a bowl of water and microwave for a minute to zap those germs away.”
If you have a feeling the sponge is really dirty, however, you can “grab a bowl and mix one quart of warm water and three tablespoons of bleach,” the video explained.
“Drop your sponge in and let it soak for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through. Then squeeze out the sponge, rinse well, and set aside to air dry.”
The video went on to explain how often you should be disinfecting those dirty sponges.
According to the cleaning expert, sponges should be cleaned “twice a week” and replaced regularly to stay hygienic and ensure you’re not just spreading germs onto your cutlery.
In the comments, people praised the hack, with some saying they’d never thought to use these methods.
One wrote: “Never thought above microwaving a sponge! Great ideas.”
Another added that all the tips were “brilliant”.
Someone else pointed out that if you don’t replace your sponges regularly, “they end up stinking really bad”.
