ugh as often as I can

I have not used a sponge in my house for years. I use a cheap green scrubbie that is run through the dishwasher with every load, and a clean microfiber cloth.

I put the sponge thru a dishwasher cycle once a week. Then I only replace when it starts to fall apart!

Twice a week. I don't use sponges though, they are little yellow&green scrubbers with a soft side and an abrasive one, they come from Dollarama in a pack of ten

The thought of using a sponge for dishes is kind of gross, really. I use dishcloths, and wash them frequently. Much greener, and much more sanitary. If serious scrubbing is needed, as I have cast iron and stainless steel cookware, I use baking soda or kosher salt.

Here's the deal w/ the sponge- if the scrubber part on the othe side & the actual sponge itself are in good shape and not falling apart, you can sanitize it easily. Just rinse it, & squeeze it out well. Then put it on a small plate & microwave it (depends on your wattage) about 2-3 minutes. Let it cool a little, then rinse it off before putting it back in use. Very green method. The high temp reached in the microwave kills bacteria very well.

I don't use sponges...they breed Listeria spp. like you wouldn't believe. I use old rags and I use them once then toss them in the wash.

At least once a month with a weekly trip to the microwave to zap bacteria

I bought some really cheap, scratchy yarn from Goodwill and crocheted a square twice the size of my hand. It works great and i throw it in with the laundry at least once a week. When it gets icky or starts getting old, I crochet a new one. I have made 4 so far from one 25 cent ball of yarn. Very economical, green, and sanitary.

Like Salymsmom, I've made my own dishcloths (knitted out of cotton in my case). I have a whole mess of them, and I use clean one daily. They hold up well, and while a few have faded a lot from being bleached, I haven't yet thrown one away.

Like one of the above poster said, get your sponge wet, microwave for 2 minutes. Smell and bacteria gone. Also, run it through the dishwasher once or twice a week, you're good to go!

I use cotton dishcloths, and use a new one each time I do dishes. They get thrown in the laundry as soon as I am done with them. Sponges and dirty dishcloths really gross me out.

I change to a new sponge about once a month, will have to try the microwave trick.

I use nylon scrubbies and dishcloths that I throw in the wash--well, as often as it seems necessary. My sense of smell isn't dependable, so I throw them in the wash a couple times a week. (We also use a dishwasher, so I only handwash dishes once or twice a week. Mostly the dishcloth is used for cleaning crumbs off counters and spills off the stove.)

You can also microwave your cotton dishcloths for quick disinfecting. I read somewhere that 30 seconds will do the trick--it's certainly too hot to touch after that. (But generally I'm no germophobe--I'd rather have weak germs around to repopulate than the strong ones that survive all those attempts to kill them.)

I absolutely hate washing dishes! That's why I use my dishwasher often, thank god for dishwashers!

Till I have money to buy another

to keep it green and save money, pop the sponge int he microwave for two mintues. make sure it is heavy with water and the germs will be zapped! i do it almost every other day!

oh gross. sponges are absolutely revolting. basically everything goes in the dishwasher and if it can't [read: won't fit, because even things that aren't "dishwasher safe" get thrown in there to avoid having to actually touch them with my hands] i will use a sponge then throw the sponge away. and dish rags... oh don't even get me started!!!