You know those toothbrushes that lose their blue coloration as you use them? Why not apply that technology to sponges? When the sponge goes from blue to pink, you should no longer use it for dishes. The pink stage is for cleaning counters. Eventually a third shade appears and the sponge goes to the bathroom to do the real dirty work. Even better- have the word "dishes" slowly fade away to be replaced by the word "counters" so there is no confusion in the household over which sponge has which duties.
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What is the sponge detecting to make it change colors? Is it age based or exposure to some sort of bacteria or something else?
Although I am frequently just as guilty of misusing language as many others, I nevertheless retain a respect for correct terminology. My dictionary defines "molting" as shedding fur or feathers or skin in the prospect of renewal of new growth. I fail to see how this applies to a sponge.
I'm not sure how the toothbrushes operate, but I think it involves the loss of dye over time.
As for the second comment, I was thinking of the loss of dye particles as shedding (like a sick person might shed virus). The title is meant to suggest metamorphosis.
The title of this post uses analogy, which is illegal.
When it smells, toss it.
An interesting idea, but very difficult to implement. If you just make it a fading dye like the toothbrushes, then it only indicates how much scrubbing you have done with the sponge. Unfortunately, the total amount of scrubbing performed is unrelated to its hygiene. For example, if you wipe up split milk and then leave the damp sponge lying around without rinsing, it will be putrid within a few hours. But if you regularly put them through the dishwasher with the dishes, they will be sanitary right up until they start to disintegrate.
So to be effective, the colour would need to actually detect bacterial colonisation. This could probably be done easily for individual species, but with the thousands of species in the wild, quite a challenge. Simpler I think to just wash your sponges thoroughly (in the dishwasher, or boil them occasionally.)