EW! Moldy wooden spoon!
I've been pretty busy lately and haven't cooked that much. So, a wooden spoon that I used maybe a week and a half ago had been hanging out rinsed, but not cleaned, in the dishwasher waiting to be run. When I opened this dishwasher to fill and run it last night, I was faced with a wooden spoon growing a copious amount of mold. Eww!
Has this ever happened to you? Think the spoon is ok after a good wash, or is it curtains?
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18 Comments:
It's just a wooden spoon for god's sake. Unless you have some sentimental attachment to it, throw it out and buy a new one.
That's not to say I think it couldn't be cleaned. Personal preference here. Some people are seriously weirded out by this stuff. If you want to keep it, bleach it.
arm1970 at 11:45AM on 10/08/09
I am skeeved out. Hand wash it in bleach and hot water and then soap.
GROSS
JerzeeTomato at 12:13PM on 10/08/09
I'm sure it's fine if you bleach it. If I were to find my spoon with "copious amounts of mold" that can be replaced, I'd recycle it using it in another way unrelated to potential ingestion or throw it out.
Cassaendra at 12:40PM on 10/08/09
If it's a fairly expensive wooden spoon -- definitely give it the hand wash treatment with bleach, hot water, and soap. Otherwise, just recycle it, chuck it, or use it as a garden stake. :)
As an aside -- how many people here wash their wooden spoons in the dishwasher? I'm of the mind that they should always be hand-washed, but maybe that's just me.
avaryne at 12:58PM on 10/08/09
@avaryne, I normally hand-wash wooden spoons, but I've been known to be forgetful and toss them into the dishwasher. My favorite wooden spoons are really, really old ones, and they've darkened and hardened with age...almost like they've been seasoned with all the use. One of them has a flattened, angled side from all the stirring on the bottom of pots.
dbcurrie at 1:07PM on 10/08/09
I'd toss... mold spores are pretty difficult to get rid of.
I actually hate wooden spoons because they soak up liquid and flavors. Bamboo spoons/spatulas don't!
hmw0029 at 1:08PM on 10/08/09
Ick, I've had that happen, and just threw it out.
Cleaning with bleach and water is a good idea, but I don't think that bleach-and-hot-water is a good idea. You don't want to be inhaling bleach steam, right? I always mix bleach with cold water...
skizziks at 1:09PM on 10/08/09
I'd just toss it and use it as an excuse to go on a fun kitchen supply shopping trip!
yayfood at 1:21PM on 10/08/09
I never put any kitchen utensils in the dishwasher. Nor do I put pots and pans.
arm1970 at 1:24PM on 10/08/09
My sympathies for the original poster. That same scenario recently happened to me, but it was with a white plastic cutting board that had been sitting in my brand new dishwasher for about that length of time. I was also quite freaked. I tossed the cutting board and ran the DW at the highest level, a sterilization cycle.
CheesePlease at 1:42PM on 10/08/09
I thought you werent supposed to dishwash wooden things.
I say toss it.
AyeEat at 2:01PM on 10/08/09
Give it a good scrubbing with baking soda and rinse well in very, very hot water (like from the tea kettle hot). Spritz with diluted bleach water. (10 to 1)
Let dry in a sunny place and give it a check over. Probably will be ok. Make the call after cleaning and drying.
CJ McD at 2:16PM on 10/08/09
My dishwasher is for dishes. And silverware. No pots, pans, knives, mixing bowls, wood, bamboo, or gadgets.
Kerosena at 3:46PM on 10/08/09
The mold spores are living inside the veins of the wood, and even if you do get them out, they'll rather quickly breed and emerge again. Toss and be safe.
MMinNYC at 7:21PM on 10/08/09
Why are things sitting in the dishwasher for a week! Now THAT is gross.
If you don't have enough to run a full load after two days, just hand wash your dishes for cryin' out loud!
charm city cupcake at 7:50AM on 10/09/09
Wooden Spoons = 4 cents (UNLESS it's of emotional import).
Depending on your Grossometer, scrub with a metal scrubber and dish soap, dry with paper towels and leave exposed to air to dry completely.
Or, walk to the garbage pail, toss in the offending spoon, put a new one on your shopping list.
therealchiffonade at 8:38AM on 10/09/09
I can't possibly think of a way to clean the spoon thoroughly without ruining the wood. I think if it has sentimental value then bleach it and hang it on your wall. But I don't think it'll be foodsafe anymore.
gingercookiewithlime at 6:46PM on 10/09/09
It's gross for something that's been rinsed to sit in the dishwasher for a while? Really? I've never heard that before.
The only things I never put in the dishwasher (on purpose, anyway) are my wooden spoons. I even put my knives in there if I can arrange it so they aren't touching anything else. I don't feel like things that I've handwashed are even in the same ballpark of clean as those things that go through the dishwasher.
As for wooden utensils, I have to say that I'm really not a fan and the original poster's problem is a good example of why. I didn't use them for the longest time (not since I was living at home and had to use my mom's) but I bought some recently and I wish I'd saved my money. I know that this probably breaks some sort of Foodie Commandment but I don't really care.
RegrettableFoodie at 6:17PM on 10/11/09