The Kitchen Items Martha Stewart Wants You To Replace More Often

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Martha Stewart isn't afraid to get spicy – just take a sample from the trailer for her Netflix doc. When it comes to matters of the kitchen sink, however, the first lady of entertaining is much more strait-laced, preferring to frequently replace sponges and dishcloths. When Stewart is cooking with her favorite ingredients, she is extra mindful of how often she sanitizes her sponges and whips out a new drying cloth. In her "Ask Martha" syndicated column, she advocated for disinfecting your sponge in the microwave every day (more often if you washed a dish with meat or eggs), rinsing your sponges and cloths well and making sure they are well-ventilated. She also pushed a frequent replacement schedule: once a week for dishcloths, and every two weeks for sponges.

Kitchen sponges can be had in jumbo packs for dirt cheap, and functional dish towels with great ratings aren't all that much more expensive. Home chefs, Stewart insists, hold onto these items at their own peril. The inherent wetness of both sponges and towels, along with retained food particles from cleaning, make them a playground for bacteria, which can make you sick if you end up consuming them. An emphasis on cleanliness in your cooking space is of paramount importance, but even if you are steadfastly sanitizing and cleaning up after yourself, you should only let these porous items sit around your kitchen for so long without switching them out.

If Martha Stewart's expert advice is making you look askance at your kitchen, wondering when the last time was that you tossed your towels in the laundry basket, know that her suggestions might not even be conservative enough for maximum safety! Experts at Montana State University suggest that you should actually switch out your dish towels daily for the most sanitary cooking space. The university cited a 2017 study in which it was found that, out of 100 studied towels, a full 45% were infected with foodborne illnesses. Your best defense against getting sick is to be constantly rotating out your cloths. Stewart suggested that sponges should be rinsed thoroughly, saturated with water, and microwaved for a full minute to clean them. Remember that it's not enough to clean your countertops and other food prep spaces; you also need to make sure the cleaning tools themselves are sanitary.

Another option is to use single-use paper towels instead of cloth towels. We've discussed how you can clean grease out of plastic containers with a trick utilizing paper napkins, but you might also want to turn these rolls into the superstars of your kitchen cleaning routine. Is it wasteful to use them once and throw them away? Maybe, but you can make sure your space is sparkly clean and sanitary by using them to mop up high-risk spills, like the aforementioned meat and eggs.