Loofah Scrubber
Practicality:
Sold Individually.
These 100% loofah scrubbers are perfect for a variety of situations where you have traditionally used a conventional sponge. For example:
Kitchen: Apply dish soap to loofah and use to wash dishes. Change loofah every 3 to 5 weeks depending on usage.
Bathing (exfoliation): Apply body soap to loofah and use to exfoliate skin.
Cleaning: Apply cleaning agent to loofah and use to clean sinks, tiles, and tubs.
Changes To Your Routine:
Keeping your natural loofah sponges bacteria-free does require a little change in your routine.
- After use, rinse with hot water, wring and hang to dry.
- At the end of the day, soak sponges and dishcloths in full-strength vinegar for at least 5 minutes, preferably overnight. Other suggestions include boiling or microwaving them, but vinegar kills 99.6% of the bacteria. Pretty good really. No need for bleach, boiling or zapping.
- After a week or two, compost it.
What It's Made Of:
Loofahs (Luffa acutangula) are a type of gourd grown in warmer climates. Once the gourd is full size, it is harvested and soaked for a few days until the skin starts to come away from the ‘skeleton’. The seeds are shaken out and it is dried in the sun until it’s ready to be used as a bath or kitchen sponge. Heirloom Loofah Scrubbers are sourced from a single Mayan family farm in the tropics of Guatemala. Grown using traditional methods, these loofah are free of all pesticides and herbicides, and are completely unprocessed.
Disposal:
Loofahs are 100% plant fiber and completely compostable. Compost or simply bury in your garden. Loofah will decompose within 30 days. The paper label can be recycled or composted.
Why You Should Use It:
Most everyday sponges are derived from polyurethane, a petroleum-based ingredient that emits toxins such as formaldehyde. Foam sponges are also made from synthetic and petrochemcial materials. Neither kind of sponge is compostable.
Additionally, cellulose sponges are compostable but usually contain chemicals to prevent bacteria growth. For example, the common kitchen sponge is made of cellulose fibre (eg: wood pulp), which is compostable, but it is typically soaked in bacteria-killing triclosan, which negatively impacts aquatic ecosystems.