A sponge revolution or just good marketing? My verdict on the Scrub Daddy

You could describe the Scrub Daddy’s origin story as a dishwasher-to-millionaire trajectory. When its inventor Aaron Krause went on Shark Tank 12 years ago, he was only looking for a 100,000-dollar investment in his special sponge. Today, Aaron’s a multi-millionaire, the Shark who backed him has probably pocketed an eight-figure sum and Scrub Daddy has grown into a product family, a small part of which is available to buy here. However, the original sponge is still the most astonishing Scrub Daddy product.

On the face of it, Scrub Daddy’s a silly sponge with a smiley face. What makes it special, however, is the material it’s made from. If the sponge is soaked in cold water, it goes hard. In warm water, it softens. With this in mind, I use cold water for tough stains. If you do that, Scrub Daddy essentially acts like the rough side of a kitchen sponge – only without scratching surfaces. Turning soft in warm water, it then becomes ideal for more fragile dishes or glasses.

No Daddy issues whatsoever

The Scrub Daddy works. When I tested it, I managed to remove burnt-on food from the bottom of a pan without using any cleaning products or cream cleaner. It’s typically only rough sponges or steel wool that can do that, but they scratch surfaces or coatings. With the Scrub Daddy, that’s not an issue.

Since the sponge is round, it’s a more natural fit for my hand. The Scrub Daddy’s inventor also makes much of the sponge’s eye holes, pointing out that they can be used as finger grips. In reality, I never do that. It’s the mouth opening that’s more practical, allowing you to quickly clean long or flat objects such as wooden spoons or spatulas on both sides.

If the sponge gets dirty, you can simply rinse it out with warm water or stick it in the dishwasher to get rid of tougher stains. Twelve years since the Shark Tank episode aired, I too have become a Scrub Daddy disciple.