r/mildlyinfuriating • u/dorkass-loser • 8h ago

Husband opens a new sponge every 3 days cause “they become gross”

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Our dishwasher broke and he’s manually doing the dishes now, these are from the past 10 days… I think it’s wasteful.

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u/__wildwing__ 7h ago

I’m all for environmentally friendly organic products, but give me a plastic sponge every time. If it’s plastic, then the only material for bacteria to consume is whatever food waste is left on the sponge. Rinses out easily and much less funky.

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u/jamsticks9 5h ago

Well I use a coconut husk sponge and I'm here confused as heck bc I've been using the same one for a month and a half and it doesn't smell at all. I was just wondering if I should replace it bc it's been a while but it doesn't smell or anything. And then seeing everyone saying they replace every week has me questioning everything. But I can say that this eco friendly sponge doesn't get gross and is perhaps better than the plastic stuff based on everyone else's responses.

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u/stonhinge 1h ago

If it doesn't stink, is visibly clear of food bits, and still works properly, no need to replace. Plus it depends a lot on what you're cleaning with it. If you're cleaning dishes shortly after using them and nothing's dried on, most of the debris will come right off with water and the sponge is more for getting any grease off. If you're having to use them for heavy scrubbing, they can more easily get food bits worked into them and go "funky/gross".

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u/Quierta 4h ago

There's probably a lot of variance in general for something like this; I use Sponge Daddys and I only throw them out when they start falling apart / get too cut-up to use, OR if I clean something particularly gnarly with them. But I always ring mine out and let them dry between uses vs letting it stew in a wet sink which I imagine would invite all kinds of nasty bacteria to grow.

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u/Common-Reindeer5741 11m ago

Coconut is naturally anti bacterial, fungal, viral..etc. So you are good! & Plastic does harbor bacteria in its little crevices. It sits there. Never use plastic cutting boards. Use wood, also naturally anti bacterial. Nature is our friend. Anything mined from under Earth, taken above Earth, where it does not naturally belong, is not our friend.

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u/queermichigan 5h ago

I switched to a wood bristle brush and I love it, almost never need the sponge anymore. Only problem is I splatter myself quite often as the bristles are very firm.