At this point, my husband calls me “the sponge expert.”
He’s right — I’ve tried all types of sponges for all types of cleaning projects. If there’s a new sponge on the market, I’m the first to try it:
- My review of microfiber sponges
- My review of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponges
- My review of cheap melamine sponges
My favorites have changed over time, as I’ve continued to try the latest and greatest sponges to hit the market. (Even silicone sponges — they clean up well, but don’t “sponge up” anything at all.)
Two of the sponges that I’ve used the longest and will not be without in my home are:
- The Scrub Daddy sponge — for everyday cleaning in the kitchen and bathroom. (Actually, I use the Scrub Mommy sponge a bit more than the Scrub Daddy because it’s got a “softer” side in addition to the “scrubby” side. But I like the Scrub Daddy so much that I’ve created a list of 50+ clever uses for Scrub Daddy sponges.)
- The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponge — it’s the only sponge I’ve found that can “magically” wipe away set-in stains from hard surfaces. (In addition to my review above, I have another list that I keep adding to as I discover even more uses for Magic Erasers.)
But… I recently found a sponge that combines the Scrub Daddy with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It’s called the Eraser Daddy sponge!
What I Like About Eraser Daddy Sponges
Just when I thought that a Magic Eraser couldn’t get any better — perhaps it can.
The Eraser Daddy combines:
- “Scrubbing power without scratching” that only a Scrub Daddy sponge can provide
-AND- - “Magic wiping power” that only a melamine sponge can provide
…all in a single 2-sided sponge!
This is great — because it’s the “scrubbing” action that shortens the life Magic Eraser type melamine sponges. The more you scrub, the faster they disintegrate and fall apart before your very eyes. The melamine itself literally breaks down the more times it touches a solid surface while cleaning. So if you try to do more of your scrubbing with the scrubby side instead of the melamine side, an Eraser Daddy sponge will last longer than a Magic Eraser sponge.
TIP: That’s why I cut all of my melamine cleaning sponges into very small single-use cubes — so I don’t waste or use up an entire eraser sponge on one simple cleaning project.
Other things I like about Eraser Daddy sponges:
- You can cut them into smaller, single-use sizes.
- The scrubby side makes this sponge easy to grip and hold onto while cleaning.
- The soft, melamine side works even better than the soft side of a Scrub Mommy sponge on chrome fixtures in the bathroom.
What I Don’t Like So Much About The Eraser Daddy Sponge
In order to get the most bang for your buck, I want to use both sides of the Eraser Daddy sponge equally:
- The scrubby Sponge Daddy side that gets firmer in cold water and softer in hot water.
-AND- - The soft melamine sponge side that wipes away dirt and stains with ease.
But I find that I don’t need the scrubby side as much as I thought I would when I’m tackling set-on stains with an eraser-type sponge.
For example, I mostly use the soft eraser side of the Eraser Daddy to do these types of things around the house:
- Remove set-on dog drool from our white painted window ledges.
- Clean the seal around the refrigerator & freezer doors, as well as the seal on the dishwasher door.
- Remove dirty fingerprints from our white doors (especially the doors leading to the garage and the backyard).
- Clean “old” ink messages from our dry erase board after they have set-on for too long.
- Remove scuff marks from the white matte-painted walls in our closets (from luggage bumping the wall when storing it in the closet, shoes bumping the walls when taking them off and lining them against the wall in the closet, etc).
Unfortunately, when I’m doing those things, I don’t have any need to scrub the surface harder with the non-melamine side of an Eraser Daddy sponge.
The only time I’ve felt the need to use the scrubby side of an Eraser Daddy is when I’m cleaning our glass-top stove. There, it works great — because you can remove cooked on stains with the scrubby side and then use the melamine side to wipe up the crumbs and fine residue that’s left behind.
Since I mostly use the melamine side of the Eraser Daddy, I feel like I’m “wasting” half of the sponge — the scrubby side. Or like I’m only getting half as much of “the magic wiping power” that this type of sponge is best at.
The only other bummer is the fact that an Eraser Daddy sponge tends to slowly separate at the corners — the more you use the scrubby side to tackle stains and scrub away.
At first, my frugal side got the best of me. I thought I’d use this to my advantage and turn 1 dual-purpose sponge into 2 single-purpose sponges.
But as it turns out, only the corners of an Eraser Daddy are loose enough to separate with ease. The entire center area between the 2 sides of this sponge is solidly adhered. So when I tried to separate the 2 sides myself, it didn’t come apart easily — but I managed:
The Bottom Line…
The Eraser Daddy sponge is a good attempt at serving 2 purposes, but it’s not the best sponge for the majority of my needs around the house.
I’ll probably stick to using Scrub Mommy sponges (now they’re calling them Sponge Daddy sponges) for all of my scrubbing tasks around the house. I absolutely love that sponge!
And probably I’ll keep using regular melamine sponges (either the Magic Erasers or the knock-offs because they all work the same) for wiping away set-in stains from painted surfaces and solid surfaces with ease.
