What is the proper way to clean up after I have washed chicken in my sink? I reuse the same sponge to clean my!
Answers: dishes is that bad? Should I be using a different sponge?
I agree with Jeremy - use a mild bleach solution. Guaranteed sterile and you're not using antibiotics, which are harmful to the environment (putting antibiotics into the environment helps to create antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA). Clorox makes a kitchen/bathroom bleach spray and Target clones it for a very cheap price. I use it on knives after cutting meat, spraying the sink and countertops, and I use it on my sponges too.
I wouldn't use a sponge at all to clean up after chicken. I would use an antibacterial spray like Lysol Kitchen and use paper towels to wipe it all up. That way you can just throw them away and don't have to worry about cross contamination as you would with a sponge. Just keep the sponge for the dishes.
I use sponges as well, but to clean up chicken either on counter, or in sink, I would use another one, or paper towels, with some anti bacterial cleanser that is safe for the area you are cleaning, rinsing well. I wouldn't use the same sponge, and take the chance of cross contamination.
A diluted bleach solution applied with a sponge or paper towel will kill everything quite well. Bleach kills everything and it's much cheaper than the antibacterial sprays out there. If you're worried about germs, get rid of all your sponges. They provide a nice place for those things to grow. In my kitchen, I have a brush that dispenses dish soap, some scotch brite pads that I hardly ever use, and those take care of everything.
I use sponges and I sanitize them by using a bleach solution/bleach and water. It says on the back of the bleach container how much to add to the water. Bleach kills everything..and is cheap.
I also make a bleach solution spray...by putting water and a little bleach in a spray bottle.
I worked in Army food service. We didn't use sponges or rags at all because they retain bacteria. We had heavy HEAVY duty paper towels and ran through lots of them. (A food poisoning situation could take out a whole battalion!)
The most important step in your dishwashing is going to be the hot water rinse. If you can add a sanitizer that's great too, but the hot water will get the bacteria if it's hot enough. If you hang on to sponges, make sure you squeeze them thoroughly when finished as many bacteria won't survive in a completely dried out sponge.
"And it was just cross-contamination running away with me"
Bad is not the word that I would use ,dangerous would be a much better choice.
Throw the sponge out and use single use towels for your clean up
The key to safely processing chicken is do it either the first thing or the last thing.
Last is a much better choice because there is no food to follow.
Everthing that you used including cutting boards goes into the dishwasher . Your sinks and counter tops get properly cleaned and sanitized
the only thing i ever use a sponge for is to scrub the occasional dish or pot that won't fit in the dishwasher. i clean up after chicken with antibaterial spray and paper towels. in fact, i don't ever use a sponge to clean my counters, or anything else in the kitchen or bathroom for that matter. to me, a sponge can just harbor too much bad stuff. i regularly throw that above mentioned sponge in the dishwasher, which is supposed to work well for killing bacteria. i also replace sponges frequently.