I have a flip out drawer(?) under my sink like this one:

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Millersburg Cabinets & Cabinetry Mullet Cabinet

If I didn't, and I had a stainless sink I'd probably get one of those suction cup sponge holders and put it on the side of the sink?

Ditto.....flip down drawer.

I have a ceramic "bathroom" soap dish to rest my sponge on. It has integrate ridges to elevate the sponge allowing for quick drying. The soap dish sits on the counter full time.

My dishrag just hangs over the sink divider to dry.

I have a pretty green glass rectangular dish I bought at Pier1 years ago. The sponge fits in it perfectly. Inside the dish I have this "soap saver" in clear plastic that I bought on Amazon. It allows the sponge to air out, which did not occur in a previous tilt-out I had.

The link below shows the soap saver in white, but I got it in clear so it's pretty invisible.

Here is a link that might be useful: Spectrum Soap Saver, Clear

Flip down when someone stops by...

...where it usually sits ;)

If I'm going to be using it, I just leave it on the sink grid. When I'm finished cleaning, I set it on a soap dish under the sink

There are lots of previous threads on this. Google it.

I have a tilt-out drawer but have never gotten into the habit of using it. I put a suction cup little plastic basket that sits at the front of the sink to the left...out of the way and you can barely see it.

We do use a scrub sponge since I want to minimize paper towel use, but they're horrible, horrible for growing bacteria, molds, etc. -- Salmonella and E. coli central. No sensible person would recommend using one.

Microwaving is unreliable, liquid dishwashing detergent doesn't bother the growing colonies at all, and cleaning in a dishwasher may just spread contamination to everything in it if the water isn't hot enough.

Dropping it in a glass filled with water and a spoonful of bleach for a few minutes will do the job. But have 2 -- one to replace the first one as soon as it is used for bacterial soup cleanups, such as vegetable bin or meat juice on the cutting board. We're neither organized or germophobic enough for that.

So, back to the question, I used to have ours in a little clear-plastic holder on the inside of our sink (attached by suction cups). Since DH, who does the dishes, kept neglecting to throw it in the dishwasher with each wash, though, I got rid of the holder and started storing it right in the dishwasher, front of the top rack, so that it gets washed and dried every time. I like to think the water is hot enough, but I haven't taken a sponge to a lab to see. Maybe our local health department will some day, but for now it always passes the smell test.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen as petri dish

i keep them in the dishwasher. And I let them run with the dirty dishes too.

We use a ceramic sponge holder...something like this...they come in lots of styles and colors

I have one of those stainless sponge holders that adhere to the side of the inside of your sink to hold the sponge. That way it air dries.

Rosie, what about putting it in the freezer?

Why is the microwave "unreliable" (I always heard it was a good idea to put the wet sponge in the microwave for 30 secs to kill bacteria -- not that I did it often).

Previous home, last kitchen -- had those suction cup things. Before that, had a tip-out tray. New kitchen - getting the tip-out tray again, and hope we remember to use it.

I work in a pharmaceutical company where we have to do a lot of monitoring for bacteria, yeasts and molds - and yeah, sponges are evil. Microwaving "may" kill "some" of the bacteria, but it's great for growing E. coli and salmonella. I never use sponges or dishcloths, I use a hard plastic brush with a handle that I put in the dishwasher once or twice a week. I do have some two-colored scrubby sponges for special cleaning, but I always crack out a new one for the odd time I use them. Of course, NEVER EVER use a sponge for cleaning anything that gets raw poultry juice on it.

We have a farmhouse sink, so a tilt out was not a possibility. I think the things are gross anyways. We use a soap dish on the counter for a sponge. DW will leave a dishcloth in the sink or on the counter. That's gross to me, so I'll throw it in the laundry and grab a fresh one when needed.

We keep ours in a sponge frog. Lke this one, but ours is white. Used to have one a bazillion years ago but it got broken. Then I found the white one in Walmart about 5 years ago or more.

{{!gwi}}

I keep mine in the laundry - I use it and toss it into the laundry - I switched to using the Williams Sonoma microfiber sponges and love them.
They go into the washer and dryer and are so fresh!
Angela - that toad is so cute!

Magsnj, apparently freezing just doesn't do it well enough. It keeps colonies from growing while frozen. Makes sense when you remember eating chicken raw isn't safe even if it has just been "treated" with a couple weeks in the freezer.

Microwaving a wet sponge is pretty good, more reliable than an untested dishwasher, but I'm too lazy and in a hurry to wait for it to cool off, etc., plus it sterilizes but doesn't wash it. Tried it once long ago, and that was it.

So I just prefer the straight into the DW method for cleaning and lightheartedly hoping for a fair degree of sterilization. Mine always pass the (complacent) smell test these days, for whatever that's worth in terms of bacteria counts..

BTW, in checking to see if my old notions still held up, I found this. Not exactly being a demon housekeeper, I actually found it encouraging. :)

"The University of ArizonaâÂÂs âÂÂDr. Germ,' aka microbiologist Prof. Charles P. Gerba, agrees. He writes that sponges are the worst place for germs in the kitchen, providing a damp, nurturing environment for fecal bacteria from raw meat to fester. Yuck! In a New York Times interview, Gerba said that the cleanest-looking kitchens are often the dirtiest because âÂÂcleanâ people wipe up so frequently, they spread bacteria all over the kitchen. Amusingly, some of the cleanest kitchens, Gerba claims, are in the homes of bachelors who rarely wipe up counter tops."

So, with Rosie's last post, I guess we should all just stop cleaning. haha

I'm with using a scrub brush and cleaning in the DW. But for anything else it is white cloth towels which are used for wiping down and then to the laundry. For some reason the feel of the sponges are icky to me after a use. The flip outs hold my clean scrub brushes, a small handled razor blade scraper and extra blades. Cleaning the flip outs are another issue.

We had granite in our last house and kept it on the counter for 4 years. No problems! Or if not that, I'd get a dish. (We are doing butcher block in this kitchen, so I'll get a dish.) Inexpensive bit of something lovely.

I have stainless steel sponge holders from Bed, Bath and Beyond that adhere to the side of the sink with suction cups. The sponges dry out between uses. I have them on the prep and cleanup sinks. Scrubbies and other abrasives are on the top shelf of the chrome pullout in the sink cabinet; I leave it pulled out while I am doing major cleanup.

Webmd does recommend MWing to sanitize sponges, but you need to leave it for 2 min. I like to do that and then clean the oven as the steam loosens up the dirt for easier cleaning.

Here is a link that might be useful: MWing sponges

I keep my two sponges in a sponge caddy like this one. I usually have one in the DW and one on the go. I feel the DW gets it as clean as the Washing Machine gets my dish cloths. Just as I don't use anti-bacterial soap, I don't think it is healthy to try and keep everything too sterilized, though I do keep a separate cutting board for raw poultry and only wipe that with paper towels.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dual sponge caddy

I use plastic scrub brushes- 2 one regular and one bottle for glasses. They go brush end up in a cheap glass florist vase- the thick sturdy kind for a dozen roses. I leave the vase out by the sink.

For cleaning up spills or wiping counters, I use a dishrag. One use and then into the kitchen laundry basket which lives on top of the washing machine. Our laundry closet is at the end of our kitchen so it isn't far. The clean rags live in a plastic dishpan under the sink, ready to grab.

I don't use sponges. Just lots of white washcloths that I throw in the laundry and bleach after using. I have a plastic scrubby that gets disinfected in bleach water every few days.

No sponges in my kitchen, either. We have a plastic Tuffy that goes in the tilt-out, and a dishcloth that gets changed daily. I thought my setup for that was ingenious, if I do say so myself: rare earth magnets screwed into a bar pull and two more rare earth magnets on the outside of the sink (screw-in and flat magnets from Lee Valley). But I need stronger magnets! I keep knocking the bar off, and it drives me crazy. It'll be a great setup once I get the kinks worked out:

fouram, when you work out the kinks, will you tell me your trick? I'm so going to do this!

I used to drape my dishcloth over the faucet spout, which allowed it to air dry pretty quickly. The new faucet is higher, with an arc, and it doesn't seem right to cover up its beauty with a dishcloth. Hanging it between the sinks doesn't allow it to dry. Your solution is perfect!

annkh, this was my poor man's copy of the Magisso, which is better, but about $50! The screw-in magnets at Lee Valley are item 99K4816, and I think they're fine. I got the 1/2" magnets for the back, and they're probably too weak, so next time I order I'll get the 1" ones (99K3213). I'll try to remember to report back!

Thanks! I'm going to order today - and I'm off to find a nice bar pull!

a2gemini - Williams Sonoma has microfiber sponges? I can't find them on their website.