• pudcollar@lemmy.ml
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    8 months ago

    I feel even better replacing a new or old sponge with a brush that will never get that awful sponge smell

  • WallEx@feddit.de
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    8 months ago

    I just think about the fact that I’m throwing away something I paid for and that used up resources. Doesn’t make me feel that good honestly ^^

    • volvoxvsmarla @lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      Tbh we wash them and use them for really dirty stuff. Like when you need to remove mold with a chlorine spray or poop from your shoes. Then they get tossed because there’s no way I am washing that again.

      We’re phasing out single use sponges though, but now I don’t know what to use for the really dirty stuff.

      • WallEx@feddit.de
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        8 months ago

        Yeah like scrubbing the bathtub, cleaning spills, carpets, that kind of stuff.

        Is there a sensible alternative to single use sponges? If so, would you point one out for me? Obviously I would be interested.

        • volvoxvsmarla @lemm.ee
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          8 months ago

          We use a combination of brushes with wooden heads (I don’t like stuff with handles though), structured cotton towels from the drug store, and sponges from Ikea called “Pepprig” which I think work best for most things. They are also plastic but you can wash them easily.

        • volvoxvsmarla @lemm.ee
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          8 months ago

          Same. We actually cut them in half before we use them (no this is not a way to save up $10k in a year) and then quarter them when they turn to crap sponges xD

  • makeasnek@lemmy.ml
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    8 months ago

    Hot take: there is no food safety reason to replace a sponge if it’s still good at removing food from dishes. If you remove the food source, and the soap removes whatever is living on the dish, whatever is left over will die due to lack of nutrients and water. It’s why in food safety courses you are taught that dishes have to dry completely. Even a sponge which has been used once will be depositing “new” pathogens onto the dish. Stuff is gonna live in the sponge. The sponge doesn’t kill pathogens. Removal, soap, and desiccation do. The sponge’s job is almost purely mechanical.

    • Gork@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      Old sponges are smelly as shit though.

      New sponges have an unnaturally nice chemical smell.

    • InputZero@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      There is absolutely a food safety reason to replace a sponge. Most bacteria don’t just die when they’re in dry nutrient poor environments. They desiccate themselves into a spore form. Those spores can stay like that for very long periods of time until their environment becomes more wet. Then they can continue their lifecycle until they dry out again. Dry doesn’t mean sterile.

      • clemdemort@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Longest I ever kept a sponge for was four months it was a “I’ll do it later” kind of thing, the green scrubbing part had nearly fully been removed lol.

    • xpinchx@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      No joke at a company outing someone pointed out my socks were Darn Tough brand and he lifted up his pants to show his. Then my boss too, and we all talked about socks and lifetime warranties for 5 minutes and holy fuck I’m old. Or at least no longer young.

    • wlsnt@reddthat.com
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      8 months ago

      yep, their sponges are incredible, still in perfect shape and no smells after a long time.

      just don’t get the duster, mine worked so bad I had to throw it away after a week

      the white paste stuff is crazy good too

  • wafflez@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Just use a kitchen washcloth instead of a sponge and get a silicon gentle scrubber in addition that you can put in the dishwasher. Less microplastics and more environmentally friendly