Refresh Your Smelly Kitchen Sponge With This Spice Cabinet Staple

As if hand washing the dishes wasn't already annoying enough, the task can become even more repulsive if you're working with a yucky, smelly, mildewy dish sponge. Dish sponges go through quite a bit — spaghetti bowls, red wine glasses, green smoothie cups, and so much more. After working through those tough, heavy-duty stains, it is common for sponges to pick up an odor. The odor is caused by an accumulation of bacteria from small, leftover food particles.

If you're looking to kill off that bacteria, neutralize the odor, and leave your dish sponge refreshed and made anew, there is one common spice cabinet staple that can get the job done. Baking soda! Baking soda is widely regarded for its innumerable cleaning benefits. It is a must-have in the kitchen and in the cleaning cabinet. With just a few sprinkles of baking soda, your dish sponge will be in tip-top shape.

If you caught an unpleasant whiff of your dish sponge, don't fret. With this quick and simple baking soda hack, you can de-funk your sponge in mere minutes!

First, fill either your kitchen sink or a small cleaning basin with at least one quart of hot water. Then, measure four tablespoons of baking soda, and add them to the water. Generally, 4 tablespoons of baking soda per quart of water is the rule to follow. Stir the baking soda into the water until it dissolves, and then place the smelly sponges in the water. Allow the sponges to soak for at least fifteen minutes, then remove the sponges and wring them out. If they still carry an odor, then repeat the previous steps as necessary.

The science behind this trick lies in baking soda's antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Proven to kill off various types of bacteria, baking soda will neutralize the odor-causing germs that your sponge has accrued and prevent them from growing again.