I feel even better replacing a new or old sponge with a brush that will never get that awful sponge smell
My brush looks like it is wishing for death. I use cloth sponges though and those are great!
I bought a few "Jetz Scrubz Scrubber Sponges". They're synthetic but suds up and work as well as real sponges. I've been swapping back and forth between two of them for 6 months and they still look feel and smell great. Most of my dishes get the dishwasher but non dw safe stuff or things that need scrubbed clean first get these used on them and then I throw it in the dishwasher as well. I use two so I still have one if the other is in the dishwasher.
5/5 sponge experience. Would recommend.
Oh I see
Use a[ny] foaming soap dispenser, and get suds even if your sponge/cloth doesn’t sud - I think that was the rationale.
Your all-caps product rec intrigues me!
I just think about the fact that I'm throwing away something I paid for and that used up resources. Doesn't make me feel that good honestly ^^
Tbh we wash them and use them for really dirty stuff. Like when you need to remove mold with a chlorine spray or poop from your shoes. Then they get tossed because there's no way I am washing that again.
We're phasing out single use sponges though, but now I don't know what to use for the really dirty stuff.
Yeah like scrubbing the bathtub, cleaning spills, carpets, that kind of stuff.
Is there a sensible alternative to single use sponges? If so, would you point one out for me? Obviously I would be interested.
We use a combination of brushes with wooden heads (I don't like stuff with handles though), structured cotton towels from the drug store, and sponges from Ikea called "Pepprig" which I think work best for most things. They are also plastic but you can wash them easily.
I cut em in half when they become crap sponges so they don't accidentally get put into the sink by someone helpful
Same. We actually cut them in half before we use them (no this is not a way to save up $10k in a year) and then quarter them when they turn to crap sponges xD
So true, I always hear Fight Club's narrator say "I wanted to destroy something beautiful" when I cut that new sponges
Longest I ever kept a sponge for was four months it was a "I'll do it later" kind of thing, the green scrubbing part had nearly fully been removed lol.
Hot take: there is no food safety reason to replace a sponge if it's still good at removing food from dishes. If you remove the food source, and the soap removes whatever is living on the dish, whatever is left over will die due to lack of nutrients and water. It's why in food safety courses you are taught that dishes have to dry completely. Even a sponge which has been used once will be depositing "new" pathogens onto the dish. Stuff is gonna live in the sponge. The sponge doesn't kill pathogens. Removal, soap, and desiccation do. The sponge's job is almost purely mechanical.
There is absolutely a food safety reason to replace a sponge. Most bacteria don't just die when they're in dry nutrient poor environments. They desiccate themselves into a spore form. Those spores can stay like that for very long periods of time until their environment becomes more wet. Then they can continue their lifecycle until they dry out again. Dry doesn't mean sterile.
My brush has lasted a decade and is still going strong. I hate how gross sponges get
yep, their sponges are incredible, still in perfect shape and no smells after a long time.
just don't get the duster, mine worked so bad I had to throw it away after a week
the white paste stuff is crazy good too
How fragile is your season? A good seasoning holds up great to light abrasion and non-lye soap.
No joke at a company outing someone pointed out my socks were Darn Tough brand and he lifted up his pants to show his. Then my boss too, and we all talked about socks and lifetime warranties for 5 minutes and holy fuck I'm old. Or at least no longer young.
Don't use sponges. They have tiny holes, where bacteria live.
Use brushes instead.
So, what you're saying is, bacteria can't get stuck in brushes... I say that's not true. Bacteria can live in almost anything.
Yeah, that's correct. Still, brushes dry much faster than sponges. So the bacteria have less time to grow.
Just use a kitchen washcloth instead of a sponge and get a silicon gentle scrubber in addition that you can put in the dishwasher. Less microplastics and more environmentally friendly
Bro my happy time place now is hardware stores. Similarly would you believe Lowe's and home Depot around me both don't carry garage door track sections? Baffling.