Sponges are money suckers, but you already know that. Within a month of unwrapping one, they begin to disintegrate into the sink. And that’s only if the moldy smell has not forced you to toss them.
Hubby and I tried to prolong the lives of our sponges by soaking them in a mild bleach solution. With days the smell had returned. We stuck them in the dishwasher but they came out full of water. We tried ignoring the smelly, disintegrating sponges but when friends came over we were shamed into replacing them. Quick, Ginna’s here! Put on a good sponge face!
Finally, I discovered a superior product. Trader Joe’s Kitchen Cloths. A pack of two is about $4. I have a blue one and a yellow one. Each is about six inches by eight inches. They stay fresh smelling because they dry so quickly bacteria does not have time to grow. When they get really dirty, I toss them in the laundry. Mine have a few small holes, but I have been using them for many months.
The best part is I haven’t bought a sponge in more than a year. I can’t even remember how much they cost! Money saver? You betcha!
Caveats: the only downside is the cloths have no scrubber. They are quite soft.
January 26th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Have you tried knitted dishcloths? While they do take longer to dry (and require assembly or finding a friend to do the assembly), you just pitch them in with your regular laundry loads, and because of the knitted stitches, they have sort of “scrubby bumps” that help with cleaning. Also, you can make one from a ball of cotton yarn (available from Wal-Mart and such) for a cost of about $1.25 or so, assuming you don’t buy it on sale (as low as $1 per ball – 1 ball per dishcloth). Just another suggestion. My grandma-in-law has used these for years and years (well, they do eventually wear out but the thick cotton yarn is REALLY resilient).
January 26th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Sounds interesting, Critterknit! Can you share a link to a site that has directions on how to knit a dishcloth? ~Julia
January 26th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I vaguely remember reading that putting sponges in the microwave for a minute or so would prolong the life of sponges.
Also, I’ve always had the tulle net scrubbers around. They used to be a popular craft item for the creatively-challenged like me. They last forever, and the only down side is that they don’t absorb water, etc. A plus is that they don’t scratch non-stick pans. A friend crochets dishcloths that last a very long time. I’m sure there are inexpensive craft books at Michaels with knitting and crocheting instructions.
January 26th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Buy dishcloths at the 99cent store – 3 or 4 to a package. Can be changed every day, tossed in the washing machine with bleach. They also have inexpensive sponges and scrubbies. I nuke mine for 30 seconds while wet – kills bacteria and mold.
January 26th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I purched two packs of 24 per pack 100% cotton Terry Towels for less than $7.00 four years ago. I USE THEM FOR EVERYTHING. I do not buy paper towels.
This month I bought two packets for $8.00.
The first 24 have been relegated to my automobile as ‘rags”. I still use about 12 which are still briight white. The other 12 a stained but are used to wash windows, floors, clean up, etc.
I figure $2.00 a YEAR IS REAL CHEAP!
January 26th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
You can microwave sponges to make them last longer. Just get them soaking wet (if not they can start a fire) and pop them in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds. The microwave kills the bad-smelling bacteria. Do it about once a week and they stay like new for months.
January 26th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Every time I run my dishwasher, I put my sponge in one compartment of the silverware section (by itself). I use another sponge in the meantime. In a day or two when I fill the dishwasher again, I put the other sponge in and use the clean one from the dishwasher. My sponges always look good and smell good.
January 28th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
We regularly use dishcloths instead of sponges, which are tré nasty. (Did my accented “e” come out?)
It’s environmentally correct and not a storehouse of bacteria.
We switch them out every day, which I recommend you do, too.
We just got either 4 or 6 for about $4 on sale at Bed, Bath and Beyond (a store I hate, by the way … filled with crap, stupid coupons … hate it).
January 28th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Steve, you switch them out everyday – meaning you wash them after using them for one day? Holy cow! I left mine go for more than a week.