Dish sponge is one of the useful, necessary and indispensable tools for cleaning kitchen, dishes and tableware.
But be careful, because from being a perfect ally of cleaning , it can also become the worst enemy for your health and that of housewives.
This is because, when removing food remains from the dishes , a small part of them remains stuck to the sponge and It is difficult to remove. The moisture created inside the sponge causes bacteria to proliferate rapidly . At this point it is impossible to get rid of it.
Dish sponge, washing it with dish soap is not enough
The wet sponge is the perfect environment for fungi , spores, viruses and bacteria. It is therefore necessary to take appropriate precautions, allowing you to continue using the same dish sponge for a few days, instead of changing it daily to avoid the risk of contaminating clean dishes.
Many will think that they have already done everything possible, but in reality it is not enough to use soap to clean the sponge before washing the dishes . In fact, this procedure does not serve to eliminate the bacteria that have infiltrated the pores, but only to degrease it and eliminate the residue present almost on the surface .
How to sterilize the sponge well and thoroughly.
All this, obviously, does not mean that the cake has to be sterilized from time to time, but rather that it has to be washed carefully at the temperature appropriate. If the sponge is greasy, use Marseille soap to degrease it. Then rinse with hot water and then drain well.
To completely disinfect the sponge it is necessary to carry out a disinfection operation that must be repeated at least once a week . The sponge is immersed in a solution made of hot or even boiling water, vinegar, lemon, salt and baking soda.
Baking soda sodium, lemon and vinegar are disinfectants , natural descalers and can be used to wash and degrease but also to disinfect any sponge, not just kitchen ones. Thanks to their properties they eliminate all unpleasant odors.
Microwave or washing machine, the correct procedure
Another method to eradicate bacteria is to carefully wash the sponge to remove food debris and dirt, then place it in a microwave-safe container, cover it with cold water and place it in the oven. Set the maximum temperature and leave it for at least 4 minutes . Once the necessary time has passed, the cake must cool. It is then removed from the oven and can be used to wash dishes.
Those who do not have a microwave oven can immerse the cake in a saucepan with water. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat. The cake should remain inside for at least 5 minutes, then drain, drain well and let cool. It can also be washed in a dishwasher or washing machine. As for the washing machine, the temperature should not be lower than 60 degrees . Then it is dried in the sun, because it is the only one capable of drying it thoroughly and at the same time eliminating residual bacteria.
Baking soda has excellent sanitizing properties, so it can be used to eliminate bacteria and germs present on the sponge. You take a basin, fill it with hot water, add a little detergent, a teaspoon of baking soda, then submerge the sponge and let it soak. Ten minutes are enough , at the end of which the sponge should be rinsed, wrung out and left to dry properly.
Water with chlorine and bleach.
We continue with cold water and chlorine, which is used in bathtubs and swimming pools because it is one of the most valid allies for hygiene. Then, fill a container with cold water and bleach, submerge the sponge and leave it there for 10 minutes. The essential thing is to rinse the sponge well after the sterilization phase by passing it several times under cold water, only after having properly soaped it with dish soap.
The same procedure is applied to bleach , replacing chlorine . At the end of the procedure, the sponge should be rinsed well with a few drops of soap and cold running water. All of these are small precautions that can change your life and that should be done at least once a month to avoid the real risk of proliferation of germs and bacteria.