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How to Craft Sponge in Minecraft

Sponges absorb water in a 7x7x7 area around them. After absorbing water they become wet sponges that must be dried in a furnace.

Overview

Sponges absorb water in a 7x7x7 area around them. After absorbing water they become wet sponges that must be dried in a furnace. Sponge is produced by smelting in a Furnace rather than by arranging items in a grid. A Furnace smelts one item at a time using a fuel slot. Coal, charcoal, dried kelp blocks, lava buckets, and any wood all work as fuel, with each piece of coal smelting eight items.

The recipe was added in Minecraft Alpha and still works the same way in version 1.21. Each craft yields a single Sponge.

The materials come together from a few sources: you will be working with wet sponge (after a sponge absorbs water, or found in ocean monuments). If any of those are not already in your stores, gather them first, because the craft itself takes only a moment once everything is in the grid. With the ingredients on hand and a Furnace placed, Sponge is one of the quicker things to add to your inventory.

Crafting Recipe

Furnace
Wet SpongeWet Spong...
Fuel
SpongeSpongeSponge

Materials Needed

ItemAmountWhere to Find
Wet Sponge1After a sponge absorbs water, or found in ocean monuments

To make Sponge you will gather Wet Sponge (after a sponge absorbs water, or found in ocean monuments). Lining these up before you open the Furnace saves a trip back to storage, especially if you plan to craft several at once.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Open your Furnace interface.
  2. Place Wet Sponge in the top input slot.
  3. Add fuel (coal, charcoal, wood, etc.) to the bottom fuel slot.
  4. Wait for the smelting progress bar to complete. Collect your Sponge from the output slot.

Tips & Notes

  • Fuel efficiency matters: a single piece of coal or charcoal smelts eight items, while a dried kelp block smelts twenty, making kelp blocks the cheapest renewable fuel for large batches.

Uses for Sponge

  • Absorbing water in a 7x7x7 area

How Sponge Fits Your World

Building blocks are the backbone of construction, and the variant you choose changes both the look and the behaviour of a build. Stairs and slabs let you shape rooflines and half-steps, glass and stained glass let light through, and decorative stone and concrete give you a consistent palette for large projects. Many of these blocks are also craftable in bulk, which matters when a single build can swallow thousands of them. For Sponge specifically, that means it is most valuable for absorbing water in a 7x7x7 area.

View detailed item stats, durability and properties for Sponge on the Astroworld Items Database.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to craft Sponge?
You need 1 Wet Sponge, made at a Furnace. Gather all of the materials first, then place them following the recipe above to produce the Sponge.
How many Sponge does the recipe produce?
The recipe produces a single Sponge per craft.
What is Sponge used for?
Sponge is used for absorbing water in a 7x7x7 area.
What version of Minecraft added Sponge?
Sponge was added in Minecraft Alpha and works the same way in the current 1.21 release. Recipes for it are identical across Java and Bedrock Edition unless noted otherwise.

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