- Sponges can harbor harmful bacteria, such as Campylobacter and Salmonella.
- Running your sponges through the dishwasher helps kill bacteria.
- Scotch-Brite recommends replacing sponges at least once a month.
It’s an inevitability on the order of death and taxes: If you cook, either you or your best helper cleans, too. Luckily, a delicious dinner is worth the effort. There are, of course, workarounds to lighten the load, such as using foil to line pans. However, unless you’re being wasteful and eating off of disposable plates, there’s no getting away from doing the dishes whenever you dine at home.
Another certainty? As you use your sponge over and over again, whether it’s to clean the counters after making a messy stew or giving your sharp knives a quick once-over, it will both degrade and get filled with bacteria. To keep our kitchens safe, we wanted to know when it is best to restart the process with a fresh sponge. We reached out to the Scotch-Brite lab team to find out when you should consider adding a new sponge to your sink-top arsenal.
When to Replace Your Sponge
Not surprisingly, there is no hard-and-fast rule about throwing away your sponges. According to the representative we spoke to at Scotch-Brite, “The expected usage life for ocelo and Scotch-Brite sponges is indefinite and varies with amount of use. We recommend changing sponges every 3 weeks to a month, at the minimum, for usage.” Why? Because your sponges can harbor bacteria that include Campylobacter, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, E. coli and Listeria. If that sounds unappetizing, it is. Each of those can cause mild to serious gastrointestinal infections or possibly irritate your skin.
A study found that Salmonella can develop as quickly as over the course of a single day. Fortunately, the scientists also found that Salmonella could be eliminated by washing the sponges in chlorine, boiling them or sending them through a cycle in the dishwasher. The study concluded that sponges, which the scientists said were less hygienic than kitchen brushes, should get tossed as soon as they “may have been in contact with pathogenic microorganisms, e.g., used on raw food spills.”
The team at Scotch-Brite agrees that how you use and care for your sponge will dictate when you should get a new one. “Sponge longevity depends on how the sponge is used,” the lab team told us. “In general, we would expect a sponge to last about 1 month. For instance, sponges used for dishes and countertops will last longer than sponges used for heavy-duty cleaning and scrubbing.”
Sensory cues are a good rule of thumb, even if you’ve been cleaning your sponges as advised. That means that if your sponge smells bad or feels slimy, you’ve already passed your expiration date. If it looks discernibly dirty, that’s another obvious clue that it’s time to move on.
How to Make Your Sponges Last Longer
Besides keeping them clean and sterilized, as the study suggested, the Scotch-Brite team mentions how you use your sponges can also play a role in their longevity. For example, if you use your sponge to soak up the juices when you prepare a chicken for roasting, you’re immediately shortening the life of your sponge. To keep your sponges going, don’t use them to wipe your cutting boards or counters that have been soiled with raw meat—instead, use paper towels, antibacterial wipes or cloths that can be immediately cleaned in your washer and dryer.
Avoiding bacteria means a much longer life for your sponge, more in the ballpark of 3 weeks to a month, as Scotch-Brite counsels. Knowing which tool to use for which task is important. For example, don’t use your typical kitchen sponge to clean crusty cast iron. That’s a task for a hardier scrubbing pad.
If you prefer sponges to brushes, it’s still best to reserve them for lighter tasks, such as cleaning your dinner plates and not-so-stubborn messes on your countertop. We especially like to use gentle sponges to shine up our cooktops and other more fragile parts of our stoves.
The Bottom Line
The main thing to keep in mind is that kitchen sponges have a relatively short lifespan. If using them is your preference when cleaning, be aware that what you clean with them will dictate how long you should keep them around. Cleaning them will keep them alive and well longer than sponges left to languish after use, but it’s best to buy them in inexpensive packs to keep them fresh. Try to avoid using them for tasks you know will expose them to harmful bacteria. After all, you don’t want to limit yourself to a single day of use.
For longevity, the best way to use your sponges is sparingly. Alternate them with brushes, rags and scrubbing pads for uses that will wear down your sponge before its time. If you treat your sponges right, they should last about a month.
