It’s safe to say that in a world saturated with sponges and scrubbers, it’s hard to pick the best product for your dish washing needs. Natural or synthetic fiber? Microfiber cloth or scouring pad? Are you a sponge devotee, or do you dabble with scrub brushes, too?
There are a lot of choices out there, but we’re taking care of the dirty work so you can find the best kitchen cleaning tools and move on to the more important things in life, like what to have for dinner and who gets to pick a movie on Netflix tonight. Check out our list of the eight best natural sponges and scrubbers, and if you’re feeling a lil’ extra saucy, take a gander at some of our other “best of” lists — you’re gonna need some plant-powered dish soap for your new kitchen scrubber, right?
This list of products was determined by ratings and reviews from Grove members.
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These Grove Co. Walnut Scouring Pads are known for tackling pots and pans without scratching them. These walnut scrubber sponges use the non-abrasive cleaning powers of crushed walnut to get your dishes and cooking gear their cleanest. Plus, Grove is always thinking responsibly so the walnuts used to make them are sustainably farmed in the US. …
Rule the kitchen with this E-Cloth Kitchen Dynamo Microfiber Scrubber and bring down messes like never before. This microfiber kitchen sponge from E-Cloth is a force to be reckoned with, soaking up spills and cleaning hard-to-reach spots, while trapping grease, grime, and dirt inside. Countertops, faucets, microwaves, and other appliances will look …
Kitchen sponges and scrubbers really have their work cut out for them. Between scrubbing dirty dishes, messy countertops, and all that glommed-on grease on top of your stove, it’s no wonder our absorbent friends get funky after a while. But what’s the cause? Why do they so often smell like towels left at the bottom of the laundry hamper on a hot day with no AC?
Prepare to be grossed out. Food particles get stuck in kitchen sponge pores, and as those bits of leftover lasagna, burnt broccoli, and tiny chicken chunks start to decompose, they emit a not-so-delightful odor. To add insult to injury, sponges and scrubbers harbor more than just rotting food in their pores — more than 300 types of bacteria can be found lurking in your sponge fibers, including gnarly strains like E. coli and salmonella.
A Google search will give you a ton of ways to get your kitchen sponges and scrubbers clean and bacteria-free — but which of ‘em really work, and which are just a bunch of rubbish? Before we dive into the nitty gritty of sponge sanitizing, it’s worth noting that even sanitized sponges can still accumulate harmful bacteria — a good rule of thumb is to replace your kitchen sponge every two weeks. Now, without further ado, here are two of our favorite methods for sanitizing your scrubby tools.
Method 1: Soak those babies in vinegar.
Distilled white vinegar is fine, but if you’ve got access to full-strength vinegar, even better — full-strength has a higher concentration of acetic acid, aka the stuff in vinegar that makes it an excellent cleaner.
Wring out your sponge, or give your scrubber a good soak to get rid of any food residue, then fill a container with enough vinegar so that your sponge is fully submerged. After five minutes, rinse off your cleaning tools, and squeeze out any excess liquid. Done!
Method 2: If you’ve got a dishwasher, use it to sanitize your kitchen scrubber or sponge.
Place the cleaning tool on the top rack of your dishwasher, and let ‘er rip. Use the dry-heat option if your dishwasher has one — but a regular cycle will get the job done, too.
You can also disinfect a kitchen sponge in the microwave. Find out how here.
Sanitize vs. disinfect vs. clean — what’s the difference? You’ve got questions, the Grove Clean Team has answers.
The majority of kitchen sponges and scrubbers are made using non-renewable resources like polyester and nylon — these cleaning tools have a massive carbon footprint and will likely sit in landfills for hundreds of years. Yikes!
That’s why we filled our list above of the best sponges and scrubbers with picks that are made from natural stuff, like coconut fibers and walnut shells. We chose recycled materials and sustainably harvested ingredients that are free from dyes, solvents, and icky chemicals, because it’s better for you and better for the planet — and that’s what we call a win-win situation.
At Grove, we take the guesswork out of which products are good for you and your home. Every product meets strict standards for being nontoxic, effective, sustainable, and cruelty-free. Once you find products you love, we ship to your home on a flexible, monthly schedule.
If you're ready to make the transition to natural cleaning, beauty, and household products, shop Grove Collaborative's natural products for the eco-friendly tools to tackle the job.
