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I can think of nothing worse than a sponge that stinks. Okay, I can think of a lot of worse things, but for the sake of this blog post, let’s pretend. I hate washing dishes to begin with, then top it off with the fact that if you don’t clean your sponge out right, it can really start to stink. When you think about the fact that that stench is from growing bacteria… it’s enough to make you sick! Not to mention the fact that a good sponge is kinda spendy, so it’s not like you can just throw it away and get a new one. Well you can… but what a waste, right? I recently started diving headfirst into the world of essential oils, so the other day when I realized that I had the stinky sponge problem, I thought for a minute and came up with a solution.
Here’s what I did:
I got a small bowl and put 3/4 cup of water and 3/4 cup of white vinegar in it.
Then, I added about 4 drops of Tea Tree oil – also called Melaleuca, (a known antibacterial agent) and 3 drops of Wild Orange oil. I added the wild orange because I like the smell (any citrus will smell fresh and clean).
I mixed it all together with a butter knife.
Then, I got the culprit sponge, made sure all the water was rung out of it, and put it in the bowl. I let it sit for about five minutes the first time, then I rung out all the water into the sink. I put it back in the bowl and let the sponge soak up the mixture again, and rung it out again. I continued this until all of the mixture had gone through the sponge.
Guess what! The sponge smelled amazing. I wasn’t sure that it had actually worked in getting rid of the bacteria though, so I let it sit over night. The next morning, the sponge still smelled like wild oranges. Which is a much better smell than bacteria, dontcha think? Plus I’m sure it’s not a good idea to clean dishes with a sponge that is full of… Actually, I don’t even want to think about it…
Remember that you can get 10% off your order at Spark Naturals when you use the code MOUSE.
If you’re just starting with essential oils, I strongly suggest you start out with this kit. It is a great beginner set and a great price.
Thanks for this tip! My husband is on a new kick about attacking the smelly sponge. We've just been replacing them but that adds up quickly!!
who knew it was that easy!! Thanks for linking up at Pinspiration Monday!