Sponges in the kitchen are often used for cleaning, and they will become more and more dirty when used for a long time.
Just like a smelly kitchen rag, dirty sponge plastic oil funnels is an ideal breeding ground for mold and bacteria. Surprisingly, they also collect various pollutants, including E. coli. A study found that a dirty sponge contains 362 different types of bacteria, with a density of 45 billion per square centimeter.

If you do not clean the kitchen sponge properly and disinfect it frequently, the pollution will spread to kitchen utensils, tableware, countertops, food and other places, endangering your diet.

Many families often use a sponge for several months without regular cleaning and sterilization. Continuous use can easily cause cross-contamination.

How to effectively clean a kitchen sponge

How can we effectively clean the kitchen sponge? The following two methods can fully clean and disinfect the kitchen sponge to prevent dangerous pathogens from cross-contaminating the kitchen surface.

Method 1: Microwave sterilization

If you use it correctly, heating in a microwave can kill 99% of bacteria.

Wash your sponge, soak it repeatedly to squeeze out the water several times, and then soak it again. Put the wet sponge in the microwave for 2 minutes, then let it cool in the microwave, squeeze out the remaining moisture, and let it air dry.

Method 2: Poaching disinfection

Add 3 times water and 1 times white vinegar to the pot. Boil the water, put in a cleaning sponge, let it heat up in boiling water for two minutes, then turn off the heat. After the water temperature drops, take out the sponge to squeeze out the water and let it air dry.

Method Three: Dishwasher

The high-temperature disinfectant of the dishwasher can effectively remove bacteria from the cleaning sponge.

Cleaning the sponge in the dishwasher can remove 99% of the bacteria, which makes this method very effective and simple.

Be sure to rinse and squeeze your sponge several times to clean the food residue inside, and then place it on the top of the dishwasher for cleaning.

Method 4: Disinfectant

You can also use disinfectant to clean the kitchen cleaning sponge.

First, rinse the sponge several times to remove food residue, and then wring it dry.

Then mix 1000 ml of cold water and 30 ml of chlorine bleach in a bowl and let the sponge soak in this mixture for at least 5 minutes to kill 99% of food-borne bacteria. After 5 minutes, take out the sponge, rinse and dry.