Slow Roamer
Life in the slow lane
Consumed{Sponge}
Your kitchen sponge may seem all cute and innocent but the truth is, it’s dirtier than a sailor’s mouth and it’s a stage 5 clinger. Here’s some cold hard truth about that sponge you brought home to meet Mama.
A sponge is more than 200,000 times dirtier than your toilet seat. Yeah. Think about that. You would be better off cutting your veggies on the toilet than on a freshly wiped off counter. Now, I’m not much of a germaphobe but I gotta admit, that kinda grosses me out. Also, never in your lifetime, or your kids lifetime, or your grand kids lifetime, or your great grand kids lifetime, or your great, great, great grand kids lifetime, or your great, great, great, great grand kids lifetime (and so on and so forth) will this sponge ever go away. It will just be chillin’ for 52,000 years before it even thinks about giving up life here on earth. You see, conventional sponges are made from plastics, mother nature’s toxic enemy.
Oh you use a washcloth? That’s better, although still a pretty nasty breeding ground for bacteria. I can always smell a washcloth sitting at the sink because, like sponges, they take a long time to dry which allows stinky bacteria to grow. Washcloths are great because you can toss them in the wash and reuse almost forever but I’m not always pleased with the absorb-abilities of them.
And if you only use paper towels…well…do I really have to tell you how awful that is? Let’s just say you are taking part in creating over 3,000 TONS of paper towel waste EVERY DAY.
Solution: the cellulose sponge. AKA Swedish dishcloth.
This sponge is composed of cellulose (wood fiber) and cotton. Because these ingredients are derived from plants means they are 100% biodegradable and once it hits the trash/compost, it will cease to exist in roughly 5 weeks. On top of that, bacteria growth isn’t as big of an issue because they dry super fast and are made from organic materials which contain naturally occurring bacteria fighting enzymes. You can throw them in the washing machine or dishwasher to sanitize if you wiped up something particularly nasty or for regular maintenance. Each cloth, when used to its full potential, is equivalent to using 15 rolls of paper towels! Plus they are super duper absorbent. One can hold 15-20 times it’s own weight in liquid! I bought a 3 pack over 6 months ago and I’m only on my second one. They are totally eco- friendly AND pocketbook friendly!
It’s crazy to me that these were invented in 1949 but I didn’t learn about them until more recently. It just proves how well industry saturates the market with throw away, toxic products to keep us ignorant and spending money. I will never ever, ever buy a conventional sponge again. I feel sad about those sponges I used before I knew any better, sitting in the landfill with nothing to do but wait around for 52,000 years to pass. Die, conventional sponges, just die already would ya?
*Don’t be fooled by imitators. Scotch-Brite makes something that looks similar but no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find any info about what they are made out of. It’s safe to assume, plastics.
9 Comments on “Consumed{Sponge}”
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Love it – thank you for these posts and ideas Jessy!
Of course! Thank you for reading!
Ok, I’m sold. I will buy these dish cloths the next time I need some. But, I recently bought a dish washing brush at T.J. Maxx and I’m super in love with it. It’s got a wooden handle with I think bamboo bristles. It’s really pretty, feels good in my hand when I’m washing dishes, it gets really sudszy, and it does an excellent job washing dishes. It **almost** makes washing dishes “enjoyable.” It looks almost exactly like this one: http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-876714/?affsrcid=AFF0005&utm_term=108594593861_product_type_home_product_type_cleaning_item_id&adpos=1o3&creative=45300890861&device=c&matchtype=&network=s&gclid=CjwKEAiAwfzDBRCRmJe7z_7h8yQSJAC4corOSgq3Y55FPsHjefpfrDHxHolODsD-QaD10BhR4hmnuxoC6tfw_wcB
What do you think about the product I’m using?
That brush looks great! It looks mostly biodegradable! Good choice. 🙂 I have something like that for doing most of my dishes and I use the Swedish cloths more for wiping things down. I plan on featuring my scrubby thing on here eventually too!
Yay! I’m glad I bought a good product all on my own!
Uuuuh I feel ya on that sponge issue. Do you know that feeling that you think you can FEEL the bacteria contamination when touching certain things or surfaces? I ALWAYS had that with sponges or these other wash cloths. I always KNEW there is nothing clean with those when you use it somewhere near where you prepare your food and such. I had no solution for that however. I have to again look if this swedish thingie is available in Germany 😀
They should be! Most of them are made in Sweden and if you’re in Germany, you’re closer to the source then I am! Does the amazon link I provide not work for you? Also, do I know you? How did you find out about my blog if you’re living in Germany? I think you’re my most faithful reader and I appreciate all your comments!
Yes, the Amazon links work, however it is targeted towards US buyers and buying via that link would add ludicrous fees for shipping and import tax 😀 So I have to research the items on the German Amazon page.
I watch many channels about US RV life on Youtube for educational and entertainment purposes ( there just is not such a community in Germany because full time RVing is practically illegal and almost impossible and hence there are only a few German RVers, mostly those who travel somewhere outside of Germany) and I am always looking for new interesting people and their channels. Things were kind of stagnating on Youtube so I ventured out to Instagram and the Blogosphere to find new people and that is how I came to find you 🙂
Have you thought about documenting your Mander remodeling for your own Youtube Channel?
From my experience this would be material that is very appreciated and sought after. You are such a great story teller and you would make the most “boring” topic an exiting adventure. And you might earn some bucks for your future adventures! I cannot wait to see you start your journey!
How interesting! It’s neat to hear about your perspective from where you are. Very different for sure! I’m more into taking photos than videos so I haven’t thought too much about making a YouTube channel. But now that you mention it….I just might! I wasn’t aware there was an audience for it out there. I think I’ll keep my eyes open for a GoPro or something with more storage than my phone. Thanks for inspiring me!