How gross is my shower sponge?
I know kitchen sponges get really filthy and moldy and need to be tossed pretty quickly.
This is not pouf, not a natural sea sponge. A cheapy I found on a hook at Walmart for less that $3.
I’m reminded of the old Dilbert comic:
Now that that’s out of the way, it probably depends a lot on the materials, the climate, the local microflora/fauna, etc. Personally, I don’t like sponges - I use the swedish dishcloths for the sink area, then handwash them after use and if they develop any discoloration or smell, I soak them in vinegar, rinse and toss into a load of dirty towels.
For a slightly more FQ style answer:
Pretty much anything that has your surface grime and dead cells, along with countless bacteria living on you (we are so gross!) in a humid place is going to probably be growing something very soon. My wife uses a plastic pouf and soaks it in a mild bleach solution every other to every third week before rinsing it thoroughly and putting it back in rotation. My MiL though swears by just putting used poufs outside in the sun every week or so - getting it thoroughly dry and letting the sun do it’s work.
Seriously though, given your health risks Beck, I’d advise replacing more frequently than less, even if you don’t think you need it.
It’s gone. It had an off smell when I showered.
Ivy warned me but I didn’t wanna believe her. 
I prefer a washcloth for bath purposes (I do at least 5-6 loads of laundry a week anyway*, and mine can go in any load except if I’m bleaching whites), but do prefer a sponge with a scrubber side in the kitchen. They’re pretty cheap, so I’ll toss a sponge and grab another when I notice an unpleasant smell or texture.
- Our washer is a bit on the small side, and my husband wears heavy long-sleeve shirts and cargo pants to work. Two sets of his work clothes pretty much fill the washer, with some of my pants and shirts possibly fitting in, so there’s 2-3 loads right there over the week. Then there’s a load of whites (sometimes with bleach, sometimes not), possibly a load of such miscellany as sleepwear and clothing of mine if I couldn’t get that into another load, probably a load of bath towels and bathmat, and a load of bedding as needed. Things like dishtowels and washcloths tend to get slid in with appropriate clothing loads.
Yes, bacteria grow in the organic material on the sponge, like the dead cells it reminded from you.
I throw my dish sponges through the dishwasher if they are still in good mechanical shape but have been around too long. I still think they are generally gross, and mostly use them on things that will be washed or heated later. Like, i don’t worry too much about some stray buggies on a pot, because (1) they won’t reproduce if the pot is clean and (2) they’ll be killed when i use the pot.
I use a washcloth in the shower (or nothing) and wash them regularly.
Personally I don’t use a bath sponge or washcloth. Which of course doesn’t stop me from having an opinion!
Skin is not sterile and I suspect a wrung out bath sponge has fewer potentially pathogenic organisms on it than my skin already has on its surface and that I am immediately spreading around it with a to start sterile sponge wiping all over my body. I’m not irrigating a wound here, I rinsing off intact skin, especially areas with extant high microbiome densities as those are the stinky places.
I would toss something that smells. But of course again to me soap water hand rubbing and shower flowing clean water across is ample.
We throw our dish sponge in the dishwasher each and every time we run the machine, which is about every other day. That probably lessens their useful lifespan but it keeps them clean.
Don’t ask why, don’t ask why. 16 species of bacteria down the drain.
I wash my washcloth if it smells.
Actually, at home i have a hand-held shower, and don’t feel the need for a washcloth. But at hotels i usually use the provided washcloth. And i start with the cleaner parts (face, arms) and end with the dirtier parts (underarms, crotch.) i often toss the washcloth on the floor when I’m done and use a clean one next time. I almost never ask for new towels, though, unless my old ones haven’t dried.
FWIW -
The source article linked to by the loofah harbor bacteria cite notes that these germs can grow on the loofah literally overnight. So if scared of the germs probably just use once then toss or sterilize?
But.
Did find a case report of Pseudomonas aeruginosa folliculitis (an infection of the hair follicles generally associated with hot tubs) associated with common use loofahs. The mechanism is that the loofah abrades the base of the follicles giving a portal of entry to the bacteria.
If you feel the need for an exfoliant, maybe just use an exfoliating wash? Or live with the non zero but low risk of triggering folliculitis.
I never reuse washcloths or towels. In the hamper after shower. In the laundry in very short order.
Folliculitus? What the heck!!
I knew there was a reason to worry!
Wait … You don’t reuse a towel but considered keeping a sponge in the shower to reuse? Wally is right about towels. Anything that sits around damp gathering dust needs to be cleaned from time to time, of course. But why not reuse towels a few times?
The worst contamination doesn’t come from your skin, it comes from the toilet. Aerosolized bacteria coat the entire room every time you flush.
Hey, if I have to know, you have to know.
My toilet seat has a fan to reduce that effect. I’ve never counted bacteria, but it does reduce odors in the bathroom.
Well, I’m kinda germaphobic. This is why the sponge worried me. I used it once. It hung in the shower. It felt dry the next time. Some reason I didn’t use it again for a few days. Then it started to concern me.
No, used bath towels are always washed after one time. Cannot go there. That really pings my phobia.
(Bleach is your friend)
@TruCelt you had to tell me these things. I don’t have to know, I don’t have to know. Nah nah nah nah…
Blame Oprah and the Mythbusters. I’m not fully germaphobic, but I’m much more aware than I would like to be.
I read @DSeid link. A really dry report on a patient with this skin disease usually associated with hot tubs and spas. She denied using those things. So they looked into her bath loofah. Teeming with this horrible pathogen. Aaaaaccckkk!
Then your aerosoled toilet germs. I may never go in the bathroom again. Oh my!
I feel obligated to share a line from the first pediatric infectious disease lecture I ever had, many decades ago: “If there are kids under five in your environment there is a microscopic layer of snot and poop on every surface. Accept that fact.” We survive.
BTW, what do y’all feel using sponges or washcloths do for you, that soap, water, and hands don’t accomplish?
A washcloth provides more friction than my hands, so it is better at removing soap, and any dirt clinging to that soap, than just my hands. Also, when i need to use body wash, instead of the bar soap i use at home, i find a washcloth is a good way to distribute it. Also, it feels good.
At home, the high pressure from my shower head, which i hold quite close to each part being rinsed (except my face, i guess), provides both adequate rinsing and a pleasant tingle on the skin.
I only use the scrunchi thing on my back because its easier to reach.