You're standing in your survival world, chest-deep in a flooded basement or staring down a massive underwater temple, and you realize you need a sponge. You check the crafting table. Nothing. You check the furnace. Still nothing. Here’s the cold, hard truth that trips up almost every new player: how to make a sponge in Minecraft isn't about a crafting recipe at all because sponges cannot be crafted.
It's a weird design choice by Mojang, honestly. You can craft literal stars and magical conduits, but a porous block of sea-foam? That’s gated behind some of the most annoying combat in the game.
If you want sponges, you have to go take them. They are a "loot-only" item, found exclusively in Ocean Monuments. This makes them one of the few utility blocks that actually feel like a trophy. You don't just "make" them; you survive for them.
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The Brutal Reality of the Ocean Monument
To get your hands on a sponge, you’re looking for a massive prismarine structure at the bottom of the deep ocean. These things are crawling with Guardians. If you aren't prepared, these cyclopean fish will melt your health bar with laser beams before you even touch the front door.
There are two ways to get sponges once you're inside. First, you can hunt the Elder Guardians. There are three of these grey, ghostly bosses in every monument—usually one in the top penthouse and one in each wing. When you kill an Elder Guardian, it's a guaranteed drop: one wet sponge.
One.
That’s basically nothing if you’re trying to drain a lake. This is why you need to find the "Sponge Room."
Not every monument has one, which is incredibly frustrating. If you're lucky, you'll find a room where the ceiling is just covered in wet sponges. You can harvest about 15 to 30 of them here. It feels like hitting the jackpot. But remember, the Mining Fatigue III effect from the Elder Guardians makes mining them almost impossible. You have to kill the bosses first, or bring a bucket of milk and be very, very fast with a hoe (which is the fastest tool for sponges).
Drying Out: Turning Wet Sponges into Dry Ones
So you survived the lasers. You've got a stack of Wet Sponges. If you try to place them now, they do absolutely nothing. They're heavy, useless blocks until you dry them out.
The standard method most people use is the furnace. You toss the wet sponge in with some coal, and it pops out as a regular sponge. Pro tip: if you put an empty bucket in the fuel slot while the sponge is drying, the water from the sponge actually fills the bucket. It's a neat way to get water in the Nether, though honestly, who is that desperate for water in the Nether?
Speaking of the Nether, that’s actually the "pro" way to dry them. Don't waste your coal. Just head to the Nether and place the wet sponge on the ground. It instantly poofs into a dry sponge with a little puff of steam. It’s satisfying. It’s fast. If you have a hundred sponges to dry, the Nether is the only way to go without losing your mind.
Why You Actually Need These Things
Sponges aren't just for show. A single sponge block will soak up water in a 7x7x7 area—specifically up to 65 blocks of water. But it has to be connected to the sponge. It won't just suck water out of the air; it needs a source block or flowing water to touch it.
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If you’re building an underwater base, sponges are your best friend. Without them, you’re stuck using the "sand drop" method, filling every single air gap with sand and then digging it back out. It’s soul-crushing work. With a few sponges and some ladders to create air pockets, you can clear a massive room in minutes.
Important Mechanics Most Players Miss
- Sponge Saturation: A sponge stops soaking up water once it hits that 65-block limit or if there's no more water in range. It then turns into a Wet Sponge.
- Water Physics: In Minecraft, water likes to "refill" itself. If you use a sponge in the middle of the ocean, the surrounding water blocks will just create new source blocks and fill the hole immediately. To actually drain something, you have to wall off an area first.
- The Hoe Factor: Since the 1.16 update, the hoe is the official tool for sponges. Using a Netherite or Diamond hoe with Efficiency V makes picking up your sponges feel like slicing through butter.
How to Get Sponges Without Dying (Mostly)
If the idea of fighting three Elder Guardians sounds terrible, you can technically find sponges through the Wandering Trader, right? Wrong. That’s a common myth. He doesn't sell them. You are stuck with the Monument.
To make the trip easier, bring:
- Potions of Water Breathing: Essential. Don't rely on air pockets.
- Depth Strider III Boots: You need to outrun the lasers.
- A Door: Old school trick—placing a door underwater creates a 2-block high air gap where you can breathe and reset your mining fatigue if you’re desperate.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're ready to stop wondering about how to make a sponge in Minecraft and start actually using them, your first step is finding a monument. Use a boat and look for large, dark shapes in deep ocean biomes, or trade with a Cartographer villager for an Ocean Explorer Map.
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Once you find the monument, don't just rush in. Build a small base on the surface directly above it. Set your spawn point with a bed. Clear the three Elder Guardians first to remove the Mining Fatigue curse. Only then should you go hunting for the secret sponge room. If the monument doesn't have a sponge room, mark the coordinates and move to the next one. It's a grind, but for any serious terraforming or underwater building, those sponges are worth their weight in diamonds.