Kitchen sponges should only be used for cleaning the worst of the dirt off. Plates, cutlery, and so on should then be rinsed briefly under running water. The same is true for dish towels or drying-up cloths if they never get a chance to dry out. They are more useful for spreading a nice even layer of bacteria on your utensils than for drying them. Sponges and cloths should be thoroughly wrung out and allowed to dry—otherwise they become the perfect place for moisture-loving microbes.
