Why Sponge Cloths are BETTER than Your Towels & Dish Sponges
If you've ever wondered "What are sponge cloths?" or "What's the big deal with Swedish dish cloths?", then this one's for you!
My sponge cloths are basically hand-sized Swedish dish cloths, with my artwork printed in non-plasticized inks. Use them for:
- Washing dishes
- Wiping surfaces
- Washing your face
They're the perfect size for soaking up most spills, but feel MUCH more ergonomic to hold in your hand than full size Swedish dish cloths (especially when washing dishes!), take WAY less time to dry, and won't cover up your dishes when they go in your dishwasher's top rack for an occasional deep clean. Also fine to put them in your washing machine! Convenient, huh?!
If you love Swedish dish cloths, but hate having to find a place to hang them, these small versions that sit on your counter were designed FOR YOU!
SPONGE CLOTH vs. PAPER TOWELS
- Waste Generation: Unlike paper towels that are one-time-use and made from trees, sponge cloths are reusable. And made of cellulose from sustainably harvested trees + cotton fibers
- Compostability/Recyclability: Because they can be deep cleaned in the washer or dishwasher, sponge cloths can still be recycled at the end of their life, unlike soiled paper towels. They remain compostable after cleaning up non-food too - just remember to clean them!
SPONGE CLOTH vs. REUSABLE "PAPER" TOWELS
- Maintenance: Reusable "paper" towels made of fabric require machine washing or quite a bit of hand washing between uses, then take the rest of the day to hang dry, or have to wait for your next load of laundry. Best of all, NO FOLDING ever! They'll just live next to your sink!
- Space: Since you only need maybe 2 at each sink to always have one ready, they don't take up a whole drawer in your kitchen to handle a few days' worth of cleaning. Despite being super absorbent, sponge cloths are small & thin enough to quickly hand wash and dry flat on your counter, and they look nice too!
SPONGE CLOTH vs. KITCHEN TOWEL
- Stain resistance: Sponge cloths win this one - cotton & linen towels require bleach to remove stains when soap doesn't cut it (and that's if they were printed like the towels I designed rather than dyed!), but sponge cloths are thick enough that if you use the unprinted side to wipe, most stains won't end up being visible from the pretty side.
- Absorbency: Even up against my super absorbent flour sack cotton towels, sponge cloths are still better as actual sponges - opt for these when washing dishes or soaking up spills, and switch to kitchen towels when less absorbency is needed for drying just-washed hands & produce, storing veggies out of plastic in your fridge, or when you need reusable gift wrap!
SPONGE CLOTH vs. DISH SPONGE
- Eco-Friendly: Plastic dish sponges are unfortunately not compostable or recyclable, and release bits of plastic as they wear out. In contrast, sponge cloths are composed of completely natural, renewable fibers instead of being formed from fossil fuel processing.
- Size: About the same! My sponge cloths were designed to fit many soap dishes, with a little overhang to help them dry out easier vs. being flat against a surface. Still recommend doing all the major scrubbing with a wooden brush though, since sponge cloths are durable, but not durable enough to stand up repeatedly to hard, stuck-on food
SPONGE CLOTH vs. FACE TOWELS
- Stink-free: Since they dry so much more quickly that thick, cotton terry face towels & washcloths, they won't stay wet forevvvvver. Staying dry means no stinkiness and no mildew potential
- Efficacy: When wet, they're comfortably soft without generating lint like cotton face towels, but still rough enough to provide a very gentle exfoliation too
Reach out if you have any questions at all! I'm always happy to talk about all the intentional details that went into designing this product!
- Irene
