Sponge

Breaking

Either type of sponge can be mined by hand, or with any tool, dropping itself as an item; however, hoes break sponges the fastest compared to other tools.

Block	👁 Image 👁 Image
Hardness	0.6
Tool	👁 Image
Breaking time (sec)^[A]
Default	0.9
👁 ItemSprite wooden-hoe.png: Sprite image for wooden-hoe in Minecraft Wooden	0.45
👁 ItemSprite stone-hoe.png: Sprite image for stone-hoe in Minecraft Stone	0.25
👁 ItemSprite copper-hoe.png: Sprite image for copper-hoe in Minecraft Copper	0.2
👁 ItemSprite iron-hoe.png: Sprite image for iron-hoe in Minecraft Iron	0.15
👁 ItemSprite diamond-hoe.png: Sprite image for diamond-hoe in Minecraft Diamond	0.15
👁 ItemSprite netherite-hoe.png: Sprite image for netherite-hoe in Minecraft Netherite	0.1
👁 ItemSprite golden-hoe.png: Sprite image for golden-hoe in Minecraft Golden	0.1
Options
Efficiency	000
Haste	001 1JEBE

Legend

incorrect tool, drops nothing
correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
correct tool, drops the block itself
italicized can be instant mined

↑ These durations ignore any other influential factors (e.g., Mining Fatigue) and are measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.

Natural generation

Ocean monuments can have "sponge rooms". Each room contains an average of 30 wet sponges. See Ocean Monument/Structure for details.

Mob loot

Mob		Quantity / Chance / Average
Mob		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00

Mob		Quantity / Chance / Average
Mob		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Mob		Amount	Probability
Mob		Amount	Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	1	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	Average	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)

Mob		Expected Number of Kills
Drops		1
Mob		Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00

↑ Only when killed by a player or a tamed wolf.

Mob		Quantity / Chance / Average
Mob		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00	1	100.00%	1.00

Mob		Quantity / Chance / Average
Mob		Default			Looting I			Looting II			Looting III
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Mob		Amount	Probability
Mob		Amount	Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	1	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)	1 (100.00%)
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	Average	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)	1 (1.00)

Mob		Expected Number of Kills
Drops		1
Mob		Default	Looting I	Looting II	Looting III
👁 Image	Elder Guardian^[A]	1.00	1.00	1.00	1.00

↑ Only when killed by a player.

Drying

A wet sponge placed in the Nether dries out instantly with a puff of steam and turns into a normal sponge.

In Bedrock Edition, a wet sponge placed in any dry biome in the Overworld dries out after a few minutes and turns into a normal sponge. If a normal sponge sucks up water in a dry biome, it immediately dries out with a puff of steam.

Smelting

A wet sponge can be dried in a furnace, making the sponge reusable.

Ingredients	Smelting recipe	Description
Wet Sponge + Any Fuel	👁 Invicon Wet Sponge.png: Inventory sprite for Wet Sponge in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Wet Sponge with description: Wet Sponge 👁 Invicon Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Coal with description: Coal 👁 Invicon Charcoal.png: Inventory sprite for Charcoal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Charcoal with description: Charcoal 👁 Invicon Oak Log.png: Inventory sprite for Oak Log in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Oak Log with description: Log 👁 Invicon Oak Planks.png: Inventory sprite for Oak Planks in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Oak Planks with description: Overworld Planks 👁 Invicon Lava Bucket.png: Inventory sprite for Lava Bucket in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Lava Bucket with description: Lava Bucket 👁 Invicon Block of Coal.png: Inventory sprite for Block of Coal in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Block of Coal with description: Block of Coal 👁 Invicon Sponge.png: Inventory sprite for Sponge in Minecraft as shown in-game with description: Sponge 0.15	If a bucket is in the fuel slot at the time the sponge completes its drying, the water drains into the bucket, leaving a bucket of water in the fuel slot. Otherwise, the water just evaporates.

Usage

👁 Image

A sponge absorbing water in a pond.

Water absorption

A sponge can be used to turn water into air by "absorbing" the water. A sponge instantly absorbs nearby water when it is placed next to water or when water comes into contact with it. Sponges immediately turn wet upon absorption and do not absorb any more water afterward. Wet sponges drip small water particles. Sponges in item form do not absorb water or become wet.

A sponge absorbs both flowing and source blocks of water up to 6 blocks away (taken as a taxicab distance) in all six directions around itself. Instead of a cube or a sphere, this effectively encloses the volume of an octahedron with vertices placed 4 units away from the center in each direction due to the game's extensive use of taxicab distance. A sponge does not absorb more than 118 blocks of water however, and water closest to the sponge is absorbed first. The absorption propagates only between adjacent water blocks and does not "jump over" non-water blocks, including air.

Sounds

Generic

Sponge

v t e 👁 BlockSprite sponge.png: Sprite image for sponge in Minecraft `sponge` sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	`block.sponge.break`	`subtitles.block.generic.break`	1.0	0.8	16
Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	`block.sponge.place`	`subtitles.block.generic.place`	1.0	0.8	16
Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`block.sponge.hit`	`subtitles.block.generic.hit`	0.2	0.5	16
Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	`block.sponge.fall`	`subtitles.block.generic.fall`	0.5	0.75	16
Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	`block.sponge.step`	`subtitles.block.generic.footsteps`	0.15	1.0	16

v t e 👁 BlockSprite sponge.png: Sprite image for sponge in Minecraft `sponge` sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
?	Blocks	Once the block has broken	`break.sponge`	?	0.7	0.8–1.0
?	Blocks	When the block is placed	`place.sponge`	?	0.8	0.8–1.0
?	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`hit.sponge`	?	0.3	0.5
?	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	`fall.sponge`	?	0.4	1.0
?	Players	Walking on the block	`step.sponge`	?	0.3	1.0

Wet sponge

v t e 👁 BlockSprite wet-sponge.png: Sprite image for wet-sponge in Minecraft `wet_sponge` sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	`block.wet_sponge.break`	`subtitles.block.generic.break`	1.0	0.8	16
Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	`block.wet_sponge.place`	`subtitles.block.generic.place`	1.0	0.8	16
Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`block.wet_sponge.hit`	`subtitles.block.generic.hit`	0.25	0.5	16
Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	`block.wet_sponge.fall`	`subtitles.block.generic.fall`	0.5	0.75	16
Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	`block.wet_sponge.step`	`subtitles.block.generic.footsteps`	0.15	1.0	16

v t e 👁 BlockSprite wet-sponge.png: Sprite image for wet-sponge in Minecraft `wet_sponge` sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
?	Blocks	Once the block has broken	`break.wet_sponge`	?	1.0	0.8
?	Blocks	When the block is placed	`place.wet_sponge`	?	1.0	0.8
?	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`hit.wet_sponge`	?	0.3	0.5
?	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	`step.wet_sponge`	?	1.0	1.0
?	Players	Walking on the block	`step.wet_sponge`	?	0.2	1.0
?	Blocks	Jumping from the block	`step.wet_sponge`	?	0.12	1.1
?	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	`step.wet_sponge`	?	0.4	1.0

Unique

Java Edition

Sounds
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
Sponge dries	Blocks	When a wet sponge is dried in the Nether	`block.wet_sponge.dries`	`subtitles.block.wet_sponge.dries`	1.0	0.7–0.84	16
Sponge sucks	Blocks	When a sponge sucks up water	`block.sponge.absorb`	`subtitles.block.sponge.absorb`	0.8	1.0	16

Sounds
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
?	Blocks	When a wet sponge is dried in the Nether or dry biome	`random.fizz`	?	1.0^[verify]	0.6–0.8^[verify]
?	Blocks	When a sponge sucks up water	`block.sponge.absorb`	?	1.0^[verify]	0.8–1.0^[verify]

Data values

ID

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Translation key
👁 BlockSprite sponge.png: Sprite image for sponge in Minecraft Sponge	`sponge`	Block & Item	`mineable/hoe`	`block.minecraft.sponge`
👁 BlockSprite wet-sponge.png: Sprite image for wet-sponge in Minecraft Wet Sponge	`wet_sponge`	Block & Item	`mineable/hoe`	`block.minecraft.wet_sponge`

Name	Identifier	Alias ID	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID^{[i 1]}	Translation key
👁 BlockSprite sponge.png: Sprite image for sponge in Minecraft Sponge	`sponge`	`sponge / 0`	`19`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.sponge.dry.name`
👁 BlockSprite wet-sponge.png: Sprite image for wet-sponge in Minecraft Wet Sponge	`wet_sponge`	`sponge / 1`	`1239`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]} (Numeric: `-984`)	`tile.sponge.wet.name`

↑ ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
↑ ^a ^b Available with /give command.
↑ ^a ^b The block's direct item form has the same ID as the block.

Achievements


Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
👁 Image	👁 Image	Dry Spell	Dry a in a furnace	—	15	Bronze

History

👁 Image

This section would benefit from the addition of more sounds.

Please remove this notice once you have added suitable sounds to the section.
The specific instructions are: Sounds before 23w33a

👁 Image

This section is missing information about: A single pixel in the sponge texture may have changed circa 1.2; been meaning to research this for a while but never got around to it

Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.

Development

May 24, 2009							Sponge was suggested on the TIGSource forums. Notch later approved this suggestion.
June 16, 2009							Sponges were tested by Notch.
June 8, 2014							👁 Image 👁 Image Jeb tweeted that the ability to erase water blocks would be returned to the sponge. The linked video revealed that the sponge would become wet once it absorbs water.

Java Edition

Java Edition Classic
0.0.19a		👁 Image Added sponges.
		The sponge is a temporary fix to stop infinite water from flooding until finite water is implemented. This was a response to players griefing servers by flooding them^[1]
		Sponges soak up water in a 5×5×5 volume around it, and would decay.
0.0.19a_01		Sponges no longer decay.
Java Edition Indev
0.31	20100201-2227	Sponges now soak up infinite water sources and infinite lava sources. This is despite the fact that they do not delete normal lava.
Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1414		Due to Notch reworking many parts of the game to allow for infinite terrain generation, the whole liquid system from Indev including sponges becomes non-functional. A new system for liquids was added in a later version of Infdev, though sponges weren't touched as they were no longer necessary.
Java Edition Beta
1.8	Pre-release	Sponges have now become available in Creative mode.
Java Edition
1.2.1	12w07a	Prior to this version, sponges could be used in redstone builds for updating blocks, in conjunction with BUDs (block update detectors): if a sponge was placed and then removed, all blocks within a 7×7×7 range would be updated.^[2] The cause of this was some remaining code for the sponge's water removing property.
1.8	14w25a	👁 Image Added wet sponges. Sponges now soak up contiguous water source blocks out to a taxicab distance of 7 when placed, thereupon turning into the new wet sponge.
		👁 Image The texture of sponge has been changed.
		Sponges have now become obtainable in Survival mode.
	14w25b	A wet sponge, when smelted, fills an empty bucket in the fuel slot with water.
1.9	15w43a	Elder guardians now drop dry sponges instead of wet ones.
1.11	16w33a	Elder guardians now drop wet sponges on player kills, rather than dry sponges.^[3]
1.14	18w43a	👁 Image 👁 Image The textures of sponges have been changed.
1.15	19w36a	Wet Sponges now dry out when placed in the Nether.
1.16	20w12a	Sponges and wet sponges can now be broken faster using hoes.
1.20.2	23w33a	Added unique sounds for dry and wet sponges, and sponges absorbing water.
1.20.5	24w09a	Added sound event `block.wet_sponge.dries`, replacing `block.fire.extinguish` when a wet sponge dries out in the Nether.^[4]
26.2	snap1	Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb sponge and wet sponge, providing the golf ball/fast flat effect to the mob.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
October 15, 2013		Johan Bernhardsson announces sponges for 0.8.0 on Twitter.
v0.8.0	build 1	👁 Image Added sponges.
v0.8.0	build 1	Sponges are currently purely decorative and only available in Creative mode.
v0.16.0	build 1	👁 Image Added wet sponges. Sponges now soak up contiguous water source blocks out to a taxicab distance of 7 when placed, thereupon turning into the new wet sponge.
		👁 Image The texture of sponge has been changed.
		Sponges have now become obtainable in Survival mode.
		A wet sponge, when smelted, fills an empty bucket in the fuel slot with water.
Unknown
?		Sponges dry out in hot biomes.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.13	beta 1.2.13.8	Added drowned, which rarely drop sponges.
1.4.0	beta 1.2.20.1	Drowned no longer drop sponge.
1.6.0	beta 1.6.0.5	Elder guardians now drop wet sponges rather than dry.
1.10.0	beta 1.10.0.3	Sponges now immediately dry out when placed in the Nether.
1.10.0	beta 1.10.0.3	👁 Image 👁 Image The textures of sponges have been changed.
1.16.0	beta 1.16.0.57	Sponges and wet sponges can now be broken faster using hoes.
1.20.30	Preview 1.20.20.22	Sponges no longer make a sound when absorbing water.^[5]
1.21.50	Preview 1.21.50.20	Sponges and wet sponges now make the same sounds as Java Edition.^[6]
1.21.50	Preview 1.21.50.20	Sponges now make a sound when absorbing water again.^[7]
26.20 Experiment Drop 2 of 2026	Preview 26.20.23	Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb sponge and wet sponge, providing the golf ball/fast flat effect to the mob.
26.30	Preview 26.30.20	Implemented all features from the "Drop 2 of 2026" experiment in vanilla gameplay.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	👁 Image Added sponges.
TU1							Sponges are currently unobtainable.
TU5							Sponges have now become available in Creative mode.
TU28	CU16	1.23	1.19	1.19			👁 Image The texture of sponge has been changed.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Sponges are now obtainable in Survival mode.
							👁 Image Added wet sponges. Sponges now soak up contiguous water source blocks out to a taxicab distance of 7 when placed, thereupon turning into the new wet sponge.
							Sponges have been removed from the custom superflat block selection menu.
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Elder guardians now drop dry sponges instead of wet ones.
TU54	CU44	1.52	1.52	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	Elder guardians now drop wet sponges again.
TU56	CU48	1.55	1.55	1.55	Patch 26	1.0.6	Elder guardians now drop dry sponges again.
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		Elder guardians now drop wet sponges again.
			1.90				👁 Image 👁 Image The textures of sponges have been changed.
			1.90				Sponges now dry out when placed in the Nether and warm biomes after some time.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							👁 Image Added sponges.
1.3.12							👁 Image Added wet sponges.
							👁 Image The texture of sponge has been changed.
							Sponges have now become obtainable in Survival mode.
							Sponges now soak up contiguous water source blocks out to a taxicab distance of 7 when placed, thereupon turning into the new wet sponge.
							A wet sponge, when smelted, fills an empty bucket in the fuel slot with water.
?							Moved sponge from the Decorations tab to the Building Blocks tab in the Creative inventory.^{[more information needed]}

Data history

Java Edition
1.8	14w06a	Sponges now use the newly-implemented model json file `models/block/cube.json`; previously the geometry was defined in the game code itself.
1.13	17w47a	The two different `wet` block states for the `sponge` ID have been split up into their own IDs.
1.13	17w47a	Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 19.
Bedrock Edition
1.21.30	Preview 1.21.30.22	The different block states for the `sponge` ID have been split up into their own IDs.

Issues

Issues relating to "Sponge" or "Wet Sponge" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Screenshots

👁 An example of sponges keeping an area dry in Java Edition Classic.

An example of sponges keeping an area dry in Java Edition Classic.
👁 Hidden sponge in the corner of a wood-paneled room, in Java Edition Classic.

Hidden sponge in the corner of a wood-paneled room, in Java Edition Classic.
👁 Sponges in the Creative inventory in the Adventure Update.

Sponges in the Creative inventory in the Adventure Update.
👁 A sponge next to a wet sponge.

A sponge next to a wet sponge.
👁 The old sponge and gravel textures.

The old sponge and gravel textures.
👁 First picture of sponge in the test version of 0.0.18a_02.

First picture of sponge in the test version of 0.0.18a_02.
👁 Sponges drying in Bedrock Edition.

Sponges drying in Bedrock Edition.
👁 Image of sponges from Jeb's instagram.

Image of sponges from Jeb's instagram.

References

↑ "Sponges won’t vanish randomly now, and glass looks better." – The Word of Notch, Jun 20th, 2009
↑ https://youtube.com/watch?v=nZK2glVsIa8
↑ MC-92294 – Elder Guardians drop normal sponge instead of wet sponge – resolved as "Fixed".
↑ MC-98316 – Wrong subtitles caused by missing distinction
↑ MCPE-173582
↑ MCPE-174345 – resolved as "Fixed".
↑ MCPE-173582 – resolved as "Fixed".

External links

Block of the Week: Sponge – Minecraft.net on March 24, 2017

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