Household Cleaning Tools: How to Clean and When to Replace

You can imagine my surprise when Diana Ciechorska, general manager at Park Slope Cleaning, a commercial and industrial cleaning service in New York and Miami, said kitchen sponges need to be replaced every one to two weeks. “They come into frequent contact with food particles and moisture, which can lead to bacterial buildup.”

Mause Ramirez, owner of MCS Cleaning Services Inc., a professional home and commercial cleaning business in San Francisco since 1995, said even when sponges look clean, they can be harboring bacteria, and you should be cleaning them after every single use. Ciechorska recommends microwaving damp sponges for 1 to 2 minutes or throwing them in the dishwasher to clean them.

Steel wool scrubbers can rust, so she says to rinse them well after each use and allow them to air-dry completely. “Replace every few weeks or when worn, as they can leave behind metal fibers.”

According to Ciechorska, dish brushes don’t need to be replaced as frequently, about every three to four months, depending on the state of the brush’s bristles. She recommends soaking brushes in hot water and cleaning vinegar (a more acidic vinegar than distilled white vinegar) or cleaning them with a mild disinfectant to keep them clean in between uses.

Bottle brushes and brushes used to clean straws are softer than dish brushes, so Ciechorska says replacing these every one to two months is recommended. To clean them, she rinses them thoroughly with hot, soapy water after each use and soaks them once a week in a mix of water and cleaning vinegar or runs them through the dishwasher (if they’re dishwasher-safe).