Welcome to Ask Wirecutter, where deputy editor Annemarie Conte helps you figure out how to make the most of your stuff in real life. If you have a shopping conundrum for our advice columnist, submit it using this form.
Dear Wirecutter:
My husband and I do not agree on when it’s time to throw out a sponge. While he likes to hang on to them until they’re practically disintegrated, I want to replace them frequently. In fact, I hate sponges so much that I’d rather just replace them entirely. Can you convince my husband that it’s possible to live a cleaner and tidier existence by relying on other handy kitchen-sink tools that don’t harbor as much nasty stuff?
R.L.
Dear R.L.,
There’s something deeply unsavory about a well-past-its-prime sponge loitering on a sink edge. Gross.
In a follow-up conversation, you and I discussed that you primarily use Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponges, Wirecutter’s favorite sponge, and you then provided photographic evidence of your husband’s penchant for hanging on to them for weeks (months?!) too long.
With couples’ disputes, I often try to tread a fine line and make sure everyone feels emotionally supported, but I’m going to be plain here: You’re right. He’s wrong.
Don’t just take my word for it. Morgan Eberhard, a senior scientist at Procter & Gamble, agrees with us, too. Although P&G doesn’t manufacture kitchen sponges, it does make the soaps and detergents that people use with them. “Sponges harbor a lot of bacteria,” she told me in a phone interview. “You really don’t want that festering and spreading around.” Multiple studies and news articles have backed this up.
Eberhard further explained that the tiny air pockets that allow sudsy soap to permeate the sponge are also a great place for food to get trapped. That, in turn, is where bacteria can grow, especially in a warm, wet environment like your sink.
I can’t be sure of your hubby’s motivations, but I know that it’s sometimes hard to dispose of disposable things—for environmental, expense, or other reasons. In this case, it’s a sanitation and food-safety issue, so I’m not going to “both-sides” this to try to avoid hurting his feelings. (Feel free to tell him to write in with a gripe about you, and maybe I’ll side with him!)
Wirecutter’s preferred sponge and unofficial cleaning mascot
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of when to throw out a sponge, I wanted to make sure that you were using something that gave you your money’s worth. We don’t have an official guide to sponges, but sponges from a few brands have been bopping around as Wirecutter recommendations. I bought three of them and asked editorial director Marguerite Preston, who managed our kitchen coverage for years, and kitchen staff writer Maki Yazawa to join me in trying them out over the course of a couple of weeks.
These versatile, inexpensive sponges come in multipacks and have a lovely ergonomic shape for effective scrubbing.
The one you use, the Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge, is our standout staff favorite. We like it for its scrubbing power, shape, low cost (about $1 a sponge), and versatility.
You may have seen this googly-eyed video star featured on our site and in our cleaning videos, which another colleague, senior SEO content strategist Mackenzie Greene, casually nicknamed Wirescrubber.
The Jetz-Scrubz Scrubber Sponge, which a Wirecutter writer previously recommended for hand-washing dishes, costs about $15 for a pack of three. Upon testing it further for this article, we decided it just didn’t live up to the task. The square shape made it hard to hold, and Marguerite found it to be too delicate—while washing a knife, she sliced clean through the scrubby side of the sponge, something she has never encountered when using a Scotch-Brite sponge on a knife. One tester (me) complained about its plastic smell.
The Scrub Daddy still has some acolytes among the staff, including Maki, even though it failed to beat the Scotch-Brite sponge in our head-to-head test. “Even though the Scotch-Brite was more effective at lifting caked-on stains than the Scrub Daddy, I still really enjoy using my Scrub Daddy,” said senior staff writer Elissa Sanci, who put both sponges to the test. The price varies, but the Scrub Daddy typically runs about $4 a pop.
We also decided to try a newish sponge that seems to be making waves: Skura Style Skrubby Sponges, which happen to be co-owned by Eva Mendes. The regular Skura sponges retail for $15 for a four-pack, and Mendes’s variation (the difference being the colors and patterns on the sponge) goes for $12 for a single sponge. The pattern on the sponge is intended to wear away, as a visual indicator of when it’s time to throw the sponge out. While it’s not foolproof, it’s certainly helpful for people like your husband.
Once I got past the disconcerting spelling of “Skrubby,” Marguerite, Maki, and I had a good chat about the pros and cons. “Skura sponges make a nice lather and feel very effective at wiping away grease,” said Marguerite. “The abrasive side is better than I expected, for being what seems like just a layer of paint/plastic, but not as good as a Scotch-Brite scrubby side.”
Maki liked how easy it was to wring out and praised it for easily getting into tight corners and oddly shaped cups. She also noted that it barely held on to scents, such as from garlicky leftovers. Overall, though, we concluded that $3.75 to $12 per sponge was a bit too much to pay.
Bottom line: We still believe that the Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge is the best value. It does its job well and consistently for about $1 per sponge.
