I must be a really bad parent, at least according to the paper towel commercials. You know the ones that tell you that the average sponge has 500 million little germs that are just waiting to get you sick; germs with gleeful grins full of big pointy teeth? Or how instead of cleaning up the counter, my particular sponge may be spreading bacteria all over the place where it sits and waits for my child’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
It is a scary tactic that is worthy of a small dictatorship. After all, it hits me in the gut, in that guilty-mom place just below my heart. How dare I expose my kids to all of that?
Let me tell you how.
I don’t.
But I also don’t use paper towels. Because what the commercials don’t tell you is that you can very easily sanitize your sponge after every use. And, there is another frugal friendly device that can be used instead of a paper towel. I’ll get to that in another blog. Look for it later today.
First on to the sponge. I myself never usually use a sponge for those raw chicken juices, anyway, or if I do, I load the sponge with a healthy does of an antibacterial cleaner.
There are two ways to sanitize a sponge. The first way is to put it in the microwave on high for two minutes. Make sure that you wet it well, first. There have been people in the news lately who have caught their microwaves on fire by forgetting this step. And be careful when you take the sponge out. It will be really hot. Use tongs or just let it sit in the microwave for 10 minutes.
The other way to sanitize a sponge is to put it in the top rack of your dishwasher and wash it with the rest of your dishes. This is my preferred method. I load the dishwasher, do whatever pots and pans that need to be done by hand and then load in the sponge. It is almost automatic for me.
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