There’s plenty of ways to use sponges around the house for cleaning, and they can even be used in the garden to keep plants hydrated. While they’re essential for keeping areas of the home clean, and dirty plates and dishes, it’s also important to give sponges a clean every once in a while to make sure they’re not harbouring bacteria.
Some experts recommend replacing sponges on a weekly basis, especially as bacteria thrives in damp environments. But having to constantly buy packets of sponges just to throw them away can feel like a waste, particularly of your money. Instead, a home hygiene expert has urged people to stop throwing them out and instead disinfect them using a super fast method that takes one minute to complete.
In the video posted on Instagram, Madame Sweat explained that “sponges harbour bacteria because they’re always moist”, but simply placing them in the microwave for one minute will kill any built up bacteria.
The hygiene expert said: “You can put your sponge in your microwave and microwave it for one minute and you will kill 99 percent of all the nasty bacteria like E. coli and salmonella.”
Although microwaves are more often used to reheat food, they can also be used for cleaning, and the kitchen appliances are able to heat sponges to a high enough temperature that destroys any bacteria.
However, Madame Sweat advised viewers to make sure the sponge doesn’t contain any metal and is thoroughly moist before placing it into the microwave, as the water in the sponge is what helps kill bacteria.
Placing a dry sponge in a microwave also runs the risk of it melting or catching fire as there’s no water to absorb the heat, which could leave you with even more of a mess to clean up.
The BBC also recommends placing sponges in the microwave for a minute until you can see steam coming off it to prolong their use. The news outlet reported that doing this “will kill the majority of the pathogens”.
This doesn’t just work for sponges either, and if you want to get a bit more use from your dishcloth or tea towel before giving it a spin in the washing machine, Madame Sweat also advises placing them in the microwave and making sure they’re moist beforehand.
One Instagram user commented on the video shared by Madame Sweat and said: “I use the microwave, but I also pour vinegar on my sponges,” and another added “Mine goes in my dishwasher nightly and then microwave every single day”.
While cleaning sponges in the microwave will help you get more use from them, it’s still important to replace them regularly as this only cleans so much bacteria from them.
