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The Best Kitchen Sponge and Scrub Brush I’ve Ever Used

Hate doing dishes? Us too. We tested dozens of sponges and scrubs, and these two are at the top of their classes.
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Published June 1, 2021.

The Best Kitchen Sponge and Scrub Brush I’ve Ever Used

Does anyone truly like doing the dishes? After cooking and enjoying a meal, the last thing I want to do is stand at the sink, scrubbing away at stubborn stains that just won’t get budge.

But then I read my colleague Kate’s review of kitchen sponges. After weeks of testing many different models, she found a winner in the O-Cedar Scrunge Multi-Use Scrubber Sponge

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The Reviews team loves this sponge—we affectionately call it “the Scrunge” for short—and for good reason. It was among the most absorbent sponges we reviewed, meaning it can suck up excess liquid when cleaning spills or wiping down counters.

It has a gritty scrubbing surface on one side that is abrasive enough to power through moderate stains and cooked-on food bits. And it’s durable; it held up to tons of scrubbing and looked surprisingly clean after testing.

I threw out my old sponge, bought myself a pack of Scrunges, and have never looked back. 

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See Our Winner

My love affair with cleaning tools continued when I got to review scrub brushes. I spent weeks intentionally baking molasses onto baking dishes and burning eggs in stainless-steel skillets, making all sorts of messes to put my scrub brush lineup to the ultimate test. After hours of scrubbing, the winner was clear—and it was from the same brand as the Scrunge, O-Cedar.

O Cedar Sponge and Scrub Photo

The O-Cedar Rinse Fresh Pot & Pan Brush aced every category with ease: Not a single stain or burnt-on crust can withstand its stiff bristles, and it rinses clean with minimal effort thanks to its well-spaced bristle clusters.

It also has a strip of ultrastiff bristles on the back of its head meant for the toughest messes, which beat out every scraper in the lineup. And its rubberized, textured handle is easy to grip and provides good leverage for scrubbing.

Keeping this super duo by our sink has transformed my husband and me into dish-cleaning experts. You may not ever enjoy doing the dishes, but if you pick up this combo, there’s virtually no stain or burnt-on mess you can’t tackle.

Photo: LordHenriVoton, Getty Images; O-Cedar

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