When Must A Knife Be Cleaned and Sanitized

Even in the US, more than 48 million people get food poisoning and die around 3 thousand for this reason each year. And many of these poisonings happen because the food gets contaminated by using unclean knives.

Now, if you’re wondering why and when must a knife be cleaned and sanitized, either because of your curiosity or someone who insisted on doing it properly, then you’re at the right place. 

Even though a knife is dangerous itself, it can be more dangerous when unclean, as it can carry deadly chemicals and microorganisms that can  even lead to death.

So, if you don’t want to harm yourself and the people around you, let’s get to know the timing, reasons, and how to clean and sanitize knives properly.

When Must A Knife Be Cleaned and Sanitized 

Your knife needs to be cleaned and sanitized each time it gets dirty or contaminated by microorganisms. Let’s know when the knives get contaminated most and least to clean them accordingly.

• When The Knife is New

When you’ve just bought a knife, don’t use the clean-looking shiny knife on your fruits and have a bite at the fruit slices. 

Because no matter how clear the brand-new knife looks, it can still have chemicals on them or dust off the materials when it was manufactured.

For these reasons, cleaning your knife before using it for the first time is best. And if you also sanitize the knife, it’ll be even better!

• After Cutting Veggies and Fruits

Although vegetables and fruits don’t contain harmful pathogens, it’s a better choice to maintain hygiene and clean the knife with plain water before and after cutting fruits and veggies. 

If you leave the knife unclean after cutting some fruits, it’ll attract kitchen bugs. Those bugs contain harmful microorganisms and they can enter your body through contamination. 

• After Scaling Fish

When you cut fish or scale fish, it’s a must to clean and sanitize your knife. 

Since the fish scales are sticky, they can stick to the knife even when you clean them with water. That’s why you must be extra careful to get rid of the scales and sanitize the knife.

Otherwise, it’s dangerous because uncooked fishes and their scale contain any type of harmful bacteria and pathogens that can lead to serious health hazards. 

Try to clean and sanitize the knife right after scaling and cutting fish without any delay.

• After Cutting Raw Meat

You may already know why eating raw meat is bad for us; it’s because of the pathogens like salmonella that can make us severely ill when consumed. 

So, when you cut any type of meat, those foodborne pathogens will stick with the knife and get mixed with other food items or somehow enter your body. 

Always clean and sanitize your knives after cutting meat to avoid deadly health conditions. Also, make sure to clean the knife before cutting the raw meat to avoid any type of contamination.

• After Cutting Yourself

If you accidentally cut yourself with a knife, clean the blood immediately after treating your wound. You’ll also need to sanitize it because your blood can contaminate other food items.

• For Cutting Different Items or By Different People

Whenever you need to cut different items with the same knife, try to clean them before using them for another item. If you’re working in a kitchen, cleaning and sanitizing the knife before cutting every item is necessary for health security. 

Also, using the same knife to cut different food items can change the taste of the food a bit because of the texture mixing. And if you’re outside or cutting other items with your knife, clean the knife when it touches any chemicals.

Moreover, when multiple people need to use a knife, they must clean and sanitize it before using it, even if it seems all tidy and clean. 

It’s because when several people use the knife, you won’t know when it was last sanitized and cleaned, what was cut most recently, or how the knife went through later.

Steps to Clean and Sanitize Knife

Now that you know the reason why you need to clean and sanitize your knife, you must know how you should do that properly because if you can’t clean the knife perfectly, there’s no point in knowing the reasons since it’ll harm you eventually.

Step 1

Before or after using a knife, the first step of cleaning is to rinse it thoroughly. Rinsing will remove all the loose debris and make it easier or sponging the sticky food out.

Step 2

The next step is to use a sponge to clean the knife. Make the sponge soapy and then scrub the blade up and down while gripping the blunt side of the knife, and keep rubbing it a few times on both sides of the blade. 

But make sure not to grip or clean by the sharp size. Otherwise, you’ll cut the sponge or even your hands!

Step 3

After sponging, you need to rinse the blade of the knife again to ensure the debris and soap are completely removed.

Step 4

The next step is to dry your knife if you don’t want it to get sanitized. But in most cases, the best option is to sanitize the blade to remove all the viruses, bacteria, and pathogens the soap couldn’t wash away.

First, you need to get a mild sanitizing solution and take some of it in a bowl to sanitize the knife. Then put the blade in the solution for around 30 seconds and then remove the blade. 

Don’t keep it in the solution for too long.

Step 5

Then you must rinse the knife thoroughly with clean and if possible, warm water because you won’t want to be sick from the sanitizer chemicals after all this hard work.

Step 6

When you’re satisfied with rinsing, it’s now time to dry the knife. You can use a clean and dry paper towel or cloth before storing the knife because stains or rust can be built up otherwise and make the knife shot-lasting. 

But if you’re going to use the knife right after cleaning and sanitizing, there’s no need to dry it out. But make sure to redo these steps again after using them.

 

Conclusion 

Now you’ve got to know the reason behind when must a knife be cleaned and sanitized, and how to do that job perfectly. So, do not leave knives uncleaned or stored that way for everyone’s sake. 

Also, clean the knife before using it every time on every different item. However, it won’t hurt much if you begin to cut your meat or fish right after cutting bread or use the knife after you cut a non-harmful item. 

But it’s always better to be safe than be sorry later, so have a clean knife to have a cleaner health report!