Kitchen Sponge vs. Absorbent Towel: Which Is Better?

If you’re a fan of Paula Deen, then you know that most of the dishes she cooks have been slathered in butter from head to toe. Because of this, it’s not uncommon for us peons who try to recreate some of her dishes to use a kitchen sponge whenever we wash pots and pans. But what happens when you take the sponge out from under the sink? Did you know it’s actually less sanitary than an absorbent towel? Crazy, right?

The Kitchen Sponge is Less Sanitary than an Absorbent Towel

Kitchen sponges are popular due to their ability to scrub off any stains in a jiffy. However, they’re also loaded with germs and bacteria, which are transferred onto your dishes when used. This can cause stomach problems to people with weak immune systems, the elderly, and the very young.

It’s not just kitchen sponges that are germ-filled – dish rags also have germs on them, although sponges tend to contain more due to their porous surfaces. Toilets are cleaner than both of these types of household cleaning supplies, although you probably aren’t scrubbing your toilet in between cleaning sessions.

How Does a Kitchen Sponge Get So Dirty?

You may wonder how a simple cleaning product can be so filthy when it’s being used to clean other stuff. To answer this question, here are the facts: A study was done by Donald Schaffner, a food microbiologist, and his team. The research was published in the Journal of Food Protection.

The study involved a total of 14 used sponges and 3 dish rags which were sampled from homes and businesses all over New Jersey. When they were done with their testing, these cleaning supplies yielded the following results:

100% of the kitchen sponges tested positive for coliform bacteria – the same type that’s found in our feces; 100%of dish rags tested positive for coliform bacteria as well!

Other germs such as e-coli (found in our digestive system) and enterococcus (which is found in our intestinal tract) were also present. Although we don’t know if they came from raw meat, we do know that the kitchen sponges and dishrags in the study were loaded with them.

On top of these germs, they also tested for salmonella and staphylococcus aureus. All three types of bacteria were found in some of the samples. Now – imagine what your sponge is doing to your food when you’re cooking! It’s scrubbing off all those harmful germs onto your freshly-prepared dishes! Let’s not forget how it’s probably absorbing all that oil from fried foods as well. Which can give your next meal heart disease if consumed in large quantities.

It was noted by Schaffner that “during a normal day at home or work. A person could easily shed 100 million (hecto) colony-forming units (CFU’s) from their skin alone. These bacteria transfer easily to sponges and rags during use.”

What You Can Do to Keep Germs off Your Kitchen Equipment

You’re not going to stop using kitchen sponges and dishrags because let’s face it. They can be a real pain in the butt to clean. But what you can do is clean them regularly. So that you don’t have to worry about getting sick from them or feeding your family with blood-filled food! Here are some tips: Clean them daily by microwaving for one minute. This will kill all germs! Replace your kitchen cleaning supplies at least once a week. Make sure you don’t store them in a moist area! Keep your kitchen clean at all times. This helps lessen the number of germs that are transferred to your sponges and rags.

If you really cannot give up using kitchen sponge, make sure that you use one for raw meat only. And not for cooked food or other surfaces. You can also soak it in hot water mixed with bleach for about five minutes – then rinse. After every use, wash it thoroughly with soap and let it dry before putting it away. If you’re worried about having enough sponges to keep up with the big family cleaning sessions. You can try getting two sets – one to use while the other is out. So they won’t be too dirty by the time you need to use them again.

As for dishrags, try using paper towels or a clean towel instead. If not, wash and dry them thoroughly in between uses!

Conclusion:

You probably knew all of the facts about sponges and dishrags already. But do you really think about them when you’re cooking? When was the last time you threw out a sponge because it was too dirty to use any more?

The good thing is that I have been using paper towels or just rinsing my kitchen stuff with soap and water. Then leave them to air dry for a few hours before putting them away. However, I know several people who don’t even bother with this step. They just wash their dishes once in a while and let the kitchen tools pile up in their cabinets. Until they run out of space or have to clean everything!