A dishwashing sponge is a common cleaning tool in the kitchen, but do you know how dirty it is? A used dishwashing sponge is inhabited by hundreds of species of bacteria, up to 54 billion per cubic centimetre.

In addition to food residue and a moist environment, the structure of the sponge itself provides favorable conditions for bacteria to grow. A recent study has shown that environments with a moderate degree of spatial separation produce the richest and most diverse bacterial communities – and porous dishwashing sponges fit the bill. Spatial structure affects the interaction between bacteria, and a moderate degree of separation allows both ‘solitary’ and ‘group’ bacteria to grow well. Bacteria on dishwashing sponges are mostly non-pathogenic but their structure promotes bacterial diversity, which may help dangerous molecules such as Salmonella to survive, posing a health risk.

So what should we do? As well as washing and drying them promptly and changing them regularly, many of us started using antimicrobial dishwashing sponges. For example, antimicrobial sponges with AntibacMax® silver ion antimicrobial agent have a good antimicrobial effect, with an antimicrobial rate of over 99.0% for E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which not only effectively prevents the growth of bacteria and mould, but also prevents the aging of materials due to bacterial growth, significantly increasing the hygiene and safety level of the kitchen.

antimicrobial sponges

How can an ordinary sponge be antimicrobial? It is actually quite simple. All that is needed is to add a small amount of AntibacMax® inorganic metal ion antimicrobial agents, such as silver ion antimicrobial agents and zinc ion antimicrobial agents, to the foam raw material during the sponge foaming process to obtain an antimicrobial sponge. As it is added internally, the antimicrobial active factor is firmly locked inside the antimicrobial sponge, it will not be easily consumed and will not easily dissolve into the water during washing. Therefore, the antimicrobial sponge has a long-lasting antimicrobial effect, with time of up to 2 years.

Langyi New Material is a professional supplier of inorganic metal ion antimicrobial agent, and has mature applications in antimicrobial kitchen appliances including antimicrobial sponges, as well as antimicrobial sponges for car seats, shoe mats and yoga mats, which are well received by customers. If you want to know more about the antimicrobial sponge case, please contact us.