Why You Should Ditch Your Cleaning Sponge

Regardless of how you clean your dishes, there is one fact that needs to be well known: sponges are disgusting.

Sponges encourage bacteria growth and mutation because they never fully dry. Also, it’s impossible to effectively clean your sponges (yes, even with bleach or the microwave trick). Experts recommend that sponges get replaced every week, which is incredibly costly and wasteful. With so many new and creative ways to clean your dishes on the market today, you should be able to ditch your sponge forever after reading through some of the alternatives below. But before we get to that… Why the Microwave Trick Doesn’t Work: ever heard of the “just stick it in the microwave” trick? It doesn’t work as well as you would think. Instead of fully ridding the sponge of bacteria, microwaving simply increases the surface area that larger, more dangerous bacteria (such as E.coli) can survive and thrive on.

Microfiber Cloths

Pura Vida has been vouching for microfiber cloths since the beginning. They are a versatile product that can be used for anything from washing dishes, cleaning up spills or dusting furniture. Even better, throwing them in the washing machine easily disinfects them.

Silicone Scrubbers If you haven’t heard of silicone scrubbers before, we recommend giving them a try. Not only do they come in fun designs and colours (check out these silicone-scrubbing gloves: amazon.com) they are incredibly effective for cleaning dishes. The silicone “bristles” destroys food debris on some of your toughest, dirtiest dishes. Not only that, the design of these scrubbers prevents bacteria growth and build up. To clean: you can boil, use soap and hot water, or put in the dishwasher.

Swedish Dishcloths Swedish dishcloths are an all in one product that is similar to microfiber cloths. They are made of cellulose fibers and cotton, dry quickly (so are reusable) and are incredibly absorbent. Even better, they are eco-friendly and compostable. Brushes

Specifically, only use brushes with a wooden or stainless steel handle (no plastic) and natural fiber bristles. Brushes dry quickly and can be cleaned easily by boiling them. If you have sensitive hands, having a handle is a nice way to avoid irritating your skin. Paper Towel

Paper towel (along with cleaning detergent) can be a sanitary way to clean up spills and counters. However, it is incredibly wasteful as each paper towel can only be used once. We recommend only using paper towel when necessary and especially when you’re handling raw meat