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Even though we spend a lot of time washing dishes, sponges are often an afterthought. We’ve all likely used the same type of sponge for most of our dishwashing lives, yet there are endless options to choose from — and not all are created equal.
Believe me: I learned the nuances of grocery- and drugstore-bought sponges after rigorously testing 17 varieties.
Only three sponges made the cut. Here are the best sponges for cleaning dishes.
The Methodology
A sponge a day keeps the… dishes away? I tried to use a sponge for an entire day of testing, though sometimes if I let dishes pile up in the sink, I dishvided and conquered the chore by switching out sponges midway through washing.
I tested with some of the most dreaded things to scrub away: red sauce remnants, dried biscuit dough on a glass bowl, egg stuck on a vintage enamel skillet, and cheese that melted into the grooves of an air fryer basket.
I looked for versatile sponges that can wash and scrub equally well without scratching dishes or delicates. I also tested for flaking or breaking when the scrubbing got tough, too much water retention, and any lingering smell after a few uses. Half of the sponges were dismissed after the first round of testing for not holding up to the challenge (aka falling apart) or retaining smell or stains.
The Results
Sponge Daddy
For those unfamiliar with the Scrub Daddy, “the sponge that smiles back” gained popularity after being on “Shark Tank.” But the brand also makes more traditional-looking sponges (in other words, rectangular two-sided sponges without the smiley face shape), and that’s what we tested here.
Known for being long-lasting, nearly odorless, and scrubbing well without scratching, Scrub Daddy sponges, aka the Sponge Daddy, boast a flexible texture that gets softer in hot water and harder in cold water. I’ve been using Scrub Daddy products almost exclusively for six years now, and this test was the first time I tried new sponges since 2018.
During my reevaluation, the Sponge Daddy scrubby side got old melted cheese off of an air fryer basket in record time, and it was also the fastest drying sponge of the lot. The only downside of this sponge compared to my other favorites is that sometimes food gets stuck in the grooves of the scrubbing side because the texture of it can grip onto food. Good when you’re scrubbing; bad when you have to get it out afterward. That said, a quick rinse under good water pressure got it clean quickly, and there was minimal staining when washing dishes with red sauce.
O-Cedar Scrunge: Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge
I had never seen the Scrunge before doing research for this sponge test, but now I can’t live without it. Scrunge is the brand’s way of saying “scrub sponge,” and scrub-a-dub-dub it does. This glided through any caked-on mess with ease — including bits of dough that sat in a glass bowl for three days when I couldn’t bear to wash dishes. A little hot water, a drop of dish soap, and barely any elbow grease got it right off in seconds.
The scrubby side of this sponge looks and feels like asphalt: black (which hides stains) and a coarse, rippled texture that can help get into little crevices that need extra scrubbing. Even though it is rough to the touch, it didn’t scratch my stainless steel pans. Even with the toughest messes to clean up, no little bits of the sponge or scrubber flaked off, and after two full days of doing dishes with it, it looked good-as-new and didn’t smell like anything but soap. It also dried relatively quickly after squeezing out excess water post-dishwashing.
Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrub Dots Sponge
I tried many different Scotch-Brite sponges, but the only ones I’d recommend buying are the ones with scrub dots. This pattern of dots on the scrubby side of the sponge keeps food from getting trapped, including bits of scrambled egg, a nemesis to other everyday sponges. There are non-scratch (green) and heavy-duty (blue) versions, but I found that neither scratched anything I washed, so I think they can be used interchangeably.
After scrubbing an entire sink of dishes, I didn’t see any fading or flaking of either side of the sponge, and though it wasn’t scent-free, it didn’t have a gross used sponge scent. (You know the one!) The sponge part did feel lower quality than the other three sponges on this list (and it took longer to dry out) but it’s also the most budget-friendly sponge on this list, so it doesn’t hurt to have to replace it more often.
PHOTO CREDIT:
Photography: Paul Quitoriano
Art Direction: Sarah Ceniceros Gomez
