What type of item do you use to wash your dishes and not worry about bacteria?

Question

I've heard those sponges and dish wands that already have a tube with soap in it attached, hold a lot of bacteria...so why do they keep getting sold if they are not good for cleaning very well? What do you all use to wash your dishes? I'm kind of lazy and I can use a washcloth, and wash it afterwards, but I don't really like to use on...any thoughts? Thanks

Answer 1

use a sponge or cloth but soak it in a mild bleach solution every few days.

Answer 2

I use Handi-wipes they are disposable or re-usable which ever you prefer.  They aren't very expensive either.

Answer 3

Palmolive dish soap anti-grease fighter

i use it with a sponge that has a hard scrub and a light scrub.

Answer 4

A washcloth with dishsoap by hand in the hottest water you can tolerate.... with a washing machine use Cascade! =] ~♥~

Answer 5

i use a sponge, i just toss it after i clean a load of dishes.

Answer 6

Dawn dish soap and 3M pad when by hand and Cascade in the dishwasher

Answer 7

The most effective way to destroy bacteria on a used sponge is to nuke it in the micro...BUT...YOU MUST KEEP THE SPONGE SOAKING WET and ONLY NUKE IT FOR 30 SECOND INCREMENTS. Never walk away from the micro while nuking a sponge because it can catch on fire if you don't follow the rules. Nuking does a heckova' job of killing bacteria and nasty smell.

Answer 8

my girlfriend uses a dish cloth and dawn dishwashing liquid.

Answer 9

I use dish detergent and a scrubber sponge, with a dishrag to dry off. Nobody's gotten sick.

Answer 10

For myself ~ I use the hottest, soapy water I can stand plus a small wooden handled bristle brush that some shops called a "mushroom" brush.  After the dishes have been washed, I rinse off the brush with hot water and let it air dry.

Answer 11

There is some truth to the fact there is some residual bacteria on sponges and most dish washing products has anti bacterial agents in them to counter-act that. But unless you use scalding hot water or add Clorox Bleach to the water, there's a chance the bacteria will still be there.

But after all these years of using sponges myself, I'm still here & healthy.

Answer 12

I use a washcloth or sponge, and I don't worry about bacteria, at home. I'm also a culinary arts student, and we use a chemical sanitizer at school, but that's not necessary at home.

I think it's actually very unlikely that you will get sick from a sponge or washcloth. Since it's your own home, you probably have a little bit of an immunity to whatever is in your dish sponges already, and it's really not as common or people to get sick from that sort of thing as you might think. I think all that germophobic stuff is just hype. They're trying to scare you into buying Lysol, and antibacterial soaps, but it's really that big a deal.

Just make sure you wash the dishcloths whenever you think it's necesary, and if you're using sponges, change them once in a while.

Answer 13

HCl- Hydrochloric acid

Answer 14

I use those scrubber things.. They seem to work well, but i havent really heard they had so much bacteria... so i will check into that. But washcloths are usually really dirty and i dont like to get them mixed with the ones we wash our body with. Also, if you use really hot water, its going to kill most of the germs anyway. An altenative would to be wash them by hand with a sponge or something, and then put them in a dishwasher. Id just try the hot water though and if you use a scrub brush, replace the scrubber every month.

Answer 15

I USE AJAX AND I CLEAN MY SINK AND DISHES WITH BLEACH.

Answer 16

I use the wand with anti-bacterial soap in it.  Actually, the regular sponges are the culprits here.  The wands are much better because they store the anti-bacterial soap in the sponge, therefore not allowing anything to grow in there.  

I don't have a dishwasher, so I fill up one side of the sink with REALLY hot, almost boiling water and dishsoap.  Then I put all the silverware and anything that comes in direct contact with our mouths in it for 5 minutes.  This way it soaks, plus disinfects.

I wash a bunch and let them sit in the other sink as the soap sits on them.  Then I rinse them in HOT water to reduce spots and allow for faster drying time.

Squeaky clean and disinfected!

Answer 17

A dishwasher LOL

Answer 18

I just wash em' with the 3M scrubber sponge and use the dish wand for the glasses. Exactly what you are concerned about. Been doing that for 25 years. If you are concerned you can soak them in some watered down bleach to kill off any alien life as CatCat suggested, and I do occasionally. When the sponge gets dirty I toss it or save it for downstairs to use for cleaning the grill or bumpers on the car or lawn furniture.

Answer 19

I put a little bit of bleach in the rinse water.  They teach that in food safety classes.  It doesn't take much bleach, it is perfectly safe, and it kills any remaining bacteria on your dishes.

Answer 20

I use a regular wash cloth and green scratcher....wash afterwards and drape to dry....Just make sure to not wash out the soap suds..stays cleaner longer