1. Cut them in half before using and presto, you instantly double your sponge’s life.
2. Squeeze them out after using them and stand them on their small edge so that the maximum surface area is exposed. They’ll air dry much faster.
3. When the sponge starts to get a nasty smell — throw it in boiling water for about 5 minutes. (Better than microwaving — the smell is GONE from the sponge without making your microwave or house smell.)
4. When it’s just too dirty to use as a dish sponge anymore, take it to something else — your bathroom, your floors, or whatever dirty job you would throw a sponge away after anyway.

Back to the point, I clean my sponge in the dishwasher as well.

I’ll just go for disinfecting the dish sponge and using it for a month. The nasty ones I use for counter-tops – I’ll throw away every two weeks.

The other sponge is used to clean dishes etc.

Occasionally I’ll give the nasty sponge a rinse under the tap, and put the dish sponge in boiling water a couple of times. Easy.

I also dispose of the clean sponge every couple of months and get a new one.

I keep two sponges around.

One washes dishes for 2-6 months depending on how dirty it gets, and then it goes into phase two: counter duty. No sterilization takes place til the sponge gets assigned to clean the counters with 409.

I also eat food slightly past expiration, and I routinely under-cook non-expired meats. I get sick maybe twice every three years.

I want to tell you all a story. My grandfather was a doctor, and he had a colleague who was deathly afraid of germs. He sanitized everything, kept his whole house sterile. He went through great pains to keep germs as far away from himself as he could. Know how he died? He caught something his immune system should have been able to handle. Unfortunately, it was too busy loafing around, munching potato chips, to be of any use.

Here’s another bit of info for all you germaphobes out there. An average American traveling to foreign countries will get sicker than a dog by eating some of the local cuisine. The locals are unaffected. Why? Because their immune systems are healthy and strong.

Vaccinations are just vials full of viruses. Sure, they’re neutered so they can’t hurt you much, but the basic principle behind them is that they give your immune system a workout and get it used to that particular virus.

Unless you’re immunodeficient, save medicines and disinfectants for when they’re really needed–illnesses with real potential for death or damage, and pools of chicken blood.

Some germs are good for us, we have thousands of little creatures living on our skin that actually protect us, the 99% germ killing hand sanitizers are a big problem as they do not discriminate between the good and the bad bacteria. HOWEVER the bacteria that tend to grow in sponges ie. E. Coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus among others can be very dangerous. In a healthy person you may just get a good bout of diarrhea but to an elderly or very young person or someone with a compromised immune system these bacteria can be very dangerous, even deadly. I agree that many are on the germaphobe kick generated by the media and advertising but I also agree with using sanitary measures in my kitchen and bathroom. I try to do so in a way that has the least impact on the environment – lots of baking soda, lemon juice, salt, vinegar, supplies that are cheap to purchase and give great results without the toxic fumes of most commercial cleaners. AND using dishcloths and dish towels, taking good care of my sponges so that they last no matter how little I paid for them, etc.

Take care of our Earth it’s the only one we have!

What wasteful are you talking about? Not the impact that thousands of sponges have a day in landfills from people that throw them away cause there cheap or dirty. WHY NOT USE WARM WATER (95% of Germs are killed but it) and save your money on dish soap, stop polluting and decreasing water supply.

Also, use dish towels, you don’t have to throw them out every F-ing week. People please think about what your doing. You can save your wallet and the planet at the same time. What could be better? Thank you for your time – if this changes at least one person, and has them use water and dish towels it will be good. Because I know how stubborn and stupid people are so I’m not expecting a majority turnaround. Oh and did you know that germs are good for you they help your body get stronger. Research it, it will blow your mind. Everyone is becoming weaker from this germiphobe culture. Thank you once again for your time.