Restore those old smelly sponges

Put your old smelly sponge in the dishwasher and restore it to almost like new.  Every once in a while when I'm loading up the dishwasher I take the sponges from the kitchen sink and throw them in too!  I'd recommend rinsing them out with soap first, then make sure you rinse most the soap off; you don't want soap in your dishwasher.  So just throw them on the top shelf and wash them just like your dishes.  The sponges come out much cleaner, somewhat sanitized, and they smell much better too!

Another smelly sponge trick is moistening the sponge and putting it in the microwave for a short time.  Don't forget to dampen the sponge and REMEMBER it will be steaming hot when it comes out!  Some say this will make the sponge disintegrate sooner though, so I just stick to the dishwasher.  I don't really know about the microwave, but believe it or not we don't have one in the kitchen.  There's one stored away in the basement though (Maybe its smelly?). 

Bulk sponge packs could save money.

ReStockit.com has good prices on bulk packs of good sponges (not smelly) and many other household cleaning supplies.  When you visit their site just search for "sponges".  Buy in bulk and save money and trips to the store

We still occasionally use Stainless Steel Wool to scrub pans that don't have a non-stick coating, throw that into the dishwasher too!  When you search for "sponges" at ReStockIt you'll see stainless steel wool pads too.  Make sure you buy "stainless" steel wool.  Steel wool will rust rapidly staining everything you own.  Steel wool is mainly for the workshop, furniture, refinishing floors, etc.

Don't forget paper towels and toilet paper.  If you buy in bulk you can get free shipping and have far fewer bulky things to bring home from the supermarket.  Buying in bulk with free shipping, allows you to just shop for perishables and other food stuffs at the market.  No more bags full of toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, dishwasher detergent, dish detergent, buy these all in bulk and have fun at the market buying fresh food items.  And of course with good supply of sponges and stainless steel wool, you can have some smelly sponges in the dishwasher and plenty of clean sponges for the sink!

Back to sponges with smell; don't forget to let them dry out!  Use one of those soap dish dryers or sponge holders.  Placing them in a sunny spot should really help reduce the smell.  Keep at least two sponges around, one in the dishwasher and one; ready to work.

Hope this helps,

Bob

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