How to Use a Sponge in Minecraft

This Minecraft tutorial explains how to use a sponge with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

In Minecraft, you can soak up large amounts of water with a sponge. This will allow you to quickly remove a water source that you don't want. Let's explore how to use a sponge.

Required Materials

In Minecraft, these are the required materials to use a sponge:

1 Sponge

How to Use a Sponge

Once you have crafted a sponge, select the sponge in your hotbar.

how to use sponge

Next, you will need to position your pointer (the plus sign) on a block at either the edge of the water source or the bottom of the water source. The sponge will only soak up water that it is touching.

TIP: You can NOT place the sponge directly on a water block. So you must place the sponge on a solid block (ie: grass, dirt, stone) that is touching to the water source.

In this example, we have highlighted a block of stone at the bottom of the water source.

Now you need to place the sponge. The game control to place the sponge depends on the version of Minecraft:

For Java Edition (PC/Mac), right click on the block.
For Pocket Edition (PE), you tap on the block.
For Xbox 360 and Xbox One, press the LT button on the Xbox controller.
For PS3 and PS4, press the L2 button on the PS controller.
For Wii U, press the ZL button on the gamepad.
For Nintendo Switch, press the ZL button on the controller.
For Windows 10 Edition, right click on the block.
For Education Edition, right click on the block.

how to use sponge

Once your sponge is placed, it will quickly soak up the water around it. In this example, it soaked up the entire water supply that was 5 blocks by 5 blocks wide, and 2 blocks deep.

Once your sponge has soaked up as much water as it can, it will turn into a wet sponge. You can then dig up the wet sponge and dry it out in the furnace to reuse it again.

Placing Sponge at Edge of Water Supply

You can also highlight a block on the edge of the water supply and place the sponge.

how to use sponge

When the sponge is placed at the edge, it is less effective in soaking up water.

how to use sponge

Because the sponge can only soak up water that is close to it, some of the water is left behind. The water on the left side is too far away to be absorbed in this example. You will need to place a sponge on the left side to soak up the rest of the water.

TIP: Try placing the sponge in the center of the water or use more than 1 sponge to soak up a large water source.

Congratulations, you just learned how to use a sponge in Minecraft.

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