This vegetable scrubber is, simply put, life-changing.
Ok, maybe that’s a stretch. But it certainly is the best way to wash dishes.
If you’ve found yourself here, I’m guessing you’ve been looking for the best sponge for cleaning dishes.
Yep, I feel you. My search for the best sponge has been a slow burn.
As a self-proclaimed germaphobe, I know better than to use a sponge anywhere in my home.
Yet I not only use them to clean the bathroom, I also use them to clean my dishes. Gross.
What’s worse? The sponge in the bathroom may or may not have at one time been the sponge used for the dishes.
Double gross.
Yet I find myself using the same sponge in the kitchen for weeks on end, occasionally nuking it in the microwave for a minute to make myself feel better about my life choices.
(this, by the way, does kill 99% of the bacteria strains on the sponge, but still)
I feel a certain level of guilt when throwing a sponge out. Although even the best sponges are only meant to be used for about a week, the eco-footprint I’d leave by throwing sponge after sponge away is more than I can handle.
So I buy the sponges made from recycled material to alleviate my guilt. These, by the way, don’t work very well if you actually prefer to remove stuck-on food from your pots and pans.
Although they do provide a challenging, albeit frustrating, upper body workout (ha).
In my quest to find the best sponge for washing dishes and to solve all of my problems I came to one conclusion: the best sponge is not a sponge at all.
In fact, researching sponges extensively taught me more than I ever wanted to know about the number of bacteria that live on them. (hint: it’s more than your toilet)
Enter the Kamenoko Tawashi Scrubber.
This little guy has been around for over 100 years in Japan and is actually designed to scrub vegetables.
It’s biodegradable and all-natural, made by hand with hemp palm fibers.
At first, it’s appearance may seem harsh but when you consider that Kame means “turtle” in Japanese, suddenly this little turtle looks like your new best friend.
The bristles soften in water, making it comfortable to hold yet surprisingly effective on your grimiest pots and pans. I use this on everything in my kitchen and it powers through stuck-on messes with ease.
I did, however, say a small prayer before using it on my Le Crueset dutch oven the first time.
But to my surprise and delight, not a scratch left behind.
I love this little guy so much I plan to employ one in each bathroom as well. And you can get your very own scrubber for a mere $5.50 on Amazon.
Now go wash those dishes in your sink with a smile.
Pro Tip: this scrubber comes in super handy when cleaning up after making my Carnitas with Caramelized Onions & Chipotle.
