Saturday, July 1, 2017

Welcome Benny, So Long Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponges!


The Good: Inexpensive, Durable
The Bad: Retains a terrible odor, Abrasive side cannot be used on non-stick pans
The Basics: The Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is an unfortunate cleaning tool that is not worth picking up . . . even at its cheap prices!


Today is a big milestone day in my family's life. For the past few months, my wife and I have been without a dog. We had about two day's notice before we had to do the humane thing and put our beloved Siberian Husky Myah down when her kidneys failed. We had just enough notice that she gave me an opinion on one of her final treats (reviewed here!) and I was able to mourn her pretty much immediately. I still miss Myah and so does my wife, but today, my wife convinced me to go with her to the local animal shelter and we went 3-5 with buying a pet. Yes, three of the five times I have been to our local animal shelter, I have come home with a new pet. My wife convinced me it was time to open my heart again and she found us a pretty incredible English Setter at the animal shelter and after an unusually protracted conversation for us in public, she convinced me that we had to get this dog for our family before someone else snatched him up. So, when I started to consider getting a new (to us - he's three years old, the shelter thought) English Setter, one of the things I considered that it meant that I would be able to start reviewing dog products once again. Today has been a whirlwind of cleaning, my wife training Benny (that's our new English Setter's name, named after the alternate version of Benjamin Sisko from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Far Beyond The Stars," reviewed here!), and me trying to figure out what I could review to introduce Benny to my new readers. My wife, however, gave me sage advice: Benny just came from the shelter and he's getting used to our home - there's no way to judge what he is actually liking as opposed to what he is trying for comfort (and because he's a bit on the thin side).

So, rather than do a pet review, I figured it was a good time to review the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge. What kind of segue is that? I'll tell you. We have a new, mostly white English Setter with fur so thin we can see where he is dirty. He spent the last three weeks in the animal shelter after (apparently) being abandoned and being found running through the woods. Our new, slightly dirty, English Setter smells far, far better than the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge we've been using in our home for about the same three weeks.

The Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is a 4 1/16” long by 3” wide by 15/16" thick sharp-cornered scrubbing sponge! These are orange or green sponges with a dark orange or light green and white floral print scrubbing pad (reminiscent of steel wool, but having more of a brick-like texture to it than most scrubbing sponges) fused to the top. The scrubbing pad accounts for 1/8” of the sponge’s thickness. Like most All-purpose sponges, the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge arrive out of the package flexible but firm and ready to clean. While the sponge is very soft, the abrasive side is fairly hard and minimally flexible, even after multiple uses.

As far as basic kitchen cleaning goes, the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge are fine. The sponge side soaks up spills efficiently and the scrubbing side good for its abrasiveness. This sponge would be a decent staple item for cleaning stainless steel or other surfaces that cannot be easily scratched were it not for the major problem of the sponges.

The Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is impossible to clean. Within four days of use, the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge had a foul, gross odor to it that nothing has been able to get out. First and foremost, it is worth noting that both my wife and I are fastidious about wringing out our sponges. From day one, we've been wringing out our Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponges. Our Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge smells foul, as if we were not keeping our sponge dry. Here's the thing, we've fully dried (oven and microwave) our Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge, we've bleached it, we've put it through the dishwasher, squeezed it out and then dried it fully. The moment our dry sponge gets wet again, it smells like we dipped it in tuna juice and stuck it out in the sun for twelve hours. No matter how long the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is fully dried and then used to clean anything with again, it stinks. This is the most smell-retaining sponge I have ever used. We've used three of these sponges and after the first one went foul, the next one I started using with a spray cleaner. The only thing that went into the sponge was spray cleaner and water and it was wrung out completely, dried for two days. The moment water hit it next . . . it bore the same terrible scent as the first sponge! Our third sponge got wet and smelled gross right away. The Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is the worst-smelling, impossible to make good sponge I've ever encountered.

Unlike several other premium sponges I’ve used, the scrubbing pad on this sponge does not separate easily from the main sponge. If the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge didn't retain and spread a scent like rotten fish, that would make the sponge worthwhile. As a result, the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is impossible to recommend; it is not merely inexpensive, it is truly cheap.

For other kitchen product reviews, please visit my takes on:
Cascade Citrus Scent Action Pacs
Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth
Outset B218 Stainless Steel Handheld Cheese Plane

3/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my Home And Garden Review Index Page for a concise listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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