How do you keep your kitchen sponges free of bacteria?

[micky]

All very interesting.

I've also read that cutting paper with scissors is very bad for them, because it'w abrasive. Especially good scissors.

[gfretwell]

That is why I keep a cheap ginsu knife in my block, for cutting open bags, boxes etc. My good knives only cut meat and vegetables. They stay sharp a lot longer that way.

[angelicapaganelli]

I never use my good sewing scissors on anything but fabric. I've got some cheap Fiskars that I use on paper, tie-wraps, those universal annoyances that attach price tags to clothing, etc.

Cindy Hamilton

[angelicapaganelli]

I've got a box cutter hanging off the side of the fridge. I suspect my husband uses the paring knives to open boxes, but he's the guy who sharpens them, so I figure he's entitled.

Cindy Hamilton

[Arlen Holder]

While that's true, it's a punt to say that because you can't keep a sponge wet for more than a short while before the bacterial count doubles, doubles, doubles, and doubles.

As you're aware, if you double a penny for a month, you end up with over five million dollars.

Bacteria are no different.

Hence the goal is to a. Not throw out the sponge every day b. But also keep the bacteria in check c. Without brutalizing the sponge to pieces

[gfretwell]

I still have not heard what is so wrong with using a bleach sanitizing solution. I understand if the concentration is too strong bleach will destroy a sponge or just about anything else but 200 PPM is all you need. (a teaspoon of household bleach per gallon of water). That is only 12-13 "drops" from an eye dropper (5ccs) in a 16 oz (0.5l) squirt bottle. You can usually bum a 10cc syringe from any compounding pharmacy but they may want a quarter for it. That is handy for mixing things like this up. It is also handy for mixing up small quantities of gasoline for little

2 stroke motors like a seldom used weed eater or chain saw where it would take a year to use a gallon.

[trader_4]

I don't see why a sanitized sponge is such a big deal period. After you wash things with the sponge, you RINSE THEM OFF. You have bacteria on your hands when you put the dishes away. Bacteria can land on them when they are just sitting around. You can wash your hands, go to the fridge take out some deli meat, take out some lettuce, pick up a tomato, close the fridge door, now you have bacteria on your hands and you go get a plate, now the plate has bacteria on it. I've read plenty of stories about people getting sick from cross contamination, but never anything traced to a contaminated sponge, certainly not if you're using it correctly. It's a kitchen sink, not an operating room.

[gfretwell]

If you don't do anything, they smell bad.

[angelicapaganelli]

Which is why I don't use a sponge. For ordinary counter wiping, I use something like these:

Although mine aren't "microban" and I don't buy them by the case. I cut them in quarters, which is plenty big, and hang them up to dry when I'm done using them. They're dry in minutes. I use one for a week and throw it away. I think the full towel costs 40 cents, so I'm tossing away a dime per week.

I don't worry much about bacteria; I have a functioning immune system. That said, I'm not a moron about it. The kitchen sink drain harbors more bacteria than the toilet seat, so I'm careful about cleaning in and around the garbage disposal opening.

Cindy Hamilton

[rbowman]

I worry even less. My dishcloth and sponge probably qualify as biology lab experiments but I never even thought about it.

[gfretwell]

The folks who know say we are to germophobic and they actually led the fight to eliminate antibacterial soaps and detergents because we were losing our natural ability to fight microbes. In spite of the scare tactics about your sponge vs the toilet seat, the real issue is what kind of germs we are talking about. Most are fairly benign but the ones you do find around the toilet can be very bad in fairly small doses. They tend to be the same ones you have trouble with in the kitchen but it is food straight from the store than has this, not your dirty dishes. The only time I really get serious about sanitizers in the kitchen is cleaning up after handling things like chicken, that is pretty much marinated in chicken shit at the processor.