About Different Types of Sponges

Sponges are very useful for cleaning and come in many different sizes and shapes depending on the purpose. The most common types of sponges are ones for the bathroom, dishes, floor and car. Sponges are more durable than paper towels for cleaning and far more absorbent than even a cloth towel. This makes them the perfect tool for cleaning almost anything.

Function

For the most part, sponges all have the same basic function: cleaning. Some sponges are designed to soak up water and deliver it elsewhere for disposal: a kitchen sponge or sponge mop is an example of this. Others hold soap suds for dispersal over a surface, such as a bath or car sponge. Still other sponges are designed to scrape dirt from a surface; such tough sponges are useful for cleaning without abrasive cleansers. The scrubber sponge, for example, can clean tough baked-on food in a microwave oven and never scratch the surface.

Features

A bath sponge is usually medium in size, with large holes. It is very soft and absorbent. A dish sponge can range in size from medium to small and may or may not have a scrubber attached. This has medium-sized holes and is moderately soft, though very absorbent. A car sponge is very large with very small holes. It is extremely soft and absorbent. You can fill a car sponge full of soapy water and clean most of your car with it. A floor sponge has tiny holes and is usually not very absorbent. This type of sponge is designed to spread soap and water around on a floor to clean the floor.

Size

The size of a sponge depends partly on its use and partly on your personal preference. If your hands are small, you don't want to use a giant sponge. But if your hands are large, a tiny sponge is no good to you either. The best thing to do when shopping for a sponge is to handle as many as possible for your particular application. Then choose the one that fits you best.

Benefits

A sponge's main use is to hold water and transport it to another place to either dispose of it or to clean something. So, the benefit of using a sponge over a paper towel is that a sponge will last a lot longer than a paper towel. It will not disintegrate and it will not leave paper fibers on everything. A sponge is far superior to a cloth towel because it can absorb far more and distribute it more evenly.

Misconceptions

A common misconception about sponges is that they are all natural. Not all sponges are made of natural materials; in fact, only the loofa is a natural sponge. Most sponges are made of cellulose, which is a spun plastic, and the only thing natural about them is the bacteria that grows on them just before you throw them away.