(HealthDay News) -- You use your sponge to clean your kitchen, but do you clean your sponge? Without careful cleaning, a sponge can soak up bacteria and spread it around.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers these suggestions:
- Don't reuse a sponge that has an odor, as it probably harbors bacteria.
- Never reuse a worn sponge.
- Clean a dirty sponge by running it through the hot cycle of your washing machine or soaking it with water and microwaving it at a high temperature for about two minutes. Never microwave a dry sponge, which could start a fire.
- If your sponge was used to clean up after raw meat, throw it out or clean it in a diluted bleach solution (1 tablespoon of bleach added to 1 gallon of water).
- Dish towels can harbor bacteria too. Frequently wash them in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
