The Scrub Daddy and Scrub Mommy sponges are both wildly popular cleaning tools, and for good reason. TikTok’s favorite sponges are excellent for all kinds of household cleaning jobs —including many of the places you forget to clean — and have loads of uses, from the basics like washing a sink full of dishes to deep-cleaning jobs like scouring the oven or scrubbing the tub.
We love these viral sponges for their durability and incredibly clever design features. But what exactly is the difference between Scrub Daddy and Scrub Mommy sponges — and most importantly, which deserves a spot in your arsenal of cleaning tools? We tested both sponges for several months to help you figure out which to buy.
Scrub Daddy vs. Scrub Mommy at a glance
With its temperature-controlled FlexTexture that changes from stiff to soft, the scratch- and smell-free Scrub Daddy sponge has loads of features that other sponges don't offer, making it a winner for both routine and deep-cleaning jobs.
Scrub Mommy sponges feature a 2-in-1 design; one side is the same temperature-controlled FlexTexture as the Scrub Daddy, and the other is made of super-absorbent and sudsing ResoFoam.
Quick comparison
| Scrub Daddy | Scrub Mommy | Scotch-Brite Dobie Pad | Scotch-Brite Heavy-Duty Scrub Sponge | O-Cedar Scrunge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FlexTexture | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| ResoFoam | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Non-scratch | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Quick-drying | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Odor-resistant | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Dishwasher-safe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Functional design features | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Available dye-free | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Price per sponge | $4 | $4 | $2 | $1 | $2 |
Both are quick-drying, durable and effective
Scrub Daddy and Scrub Mommy are both great sponges, and they work incredibly well for household cleaning jobs and simply doing the dishes. In addition to the inspired design features and the innovative FlexTexture and ResoFoam materials (more on those later), two major selling points of the Scrub Daddy and Scrub Mommy sponges are that they are quick-drying and don’t retain smells.
To test the Scrub Daddy and Scrub Mommy sponges, I spent several months using them for every cleaning job imaginable. I used them to do dishes and to deep-clean various surfaces in the kitchen (including counters, a glass stove cooktop, the glass oven door and the stainless steel sink). In the bathroom, I used the sponges to scrub the tub, clean the sink and remove hard water spots on faucets and other fixtures. While they worked well for bathroom cleaning tasks, these sponges truly stand out when it comes to daily, weekly and deep-cleaning jobs in the kitchen.
The sponges can also be cleaned and sanitized in the top rack of the dishwasher and are incredibly durable. I’ve been using both since March and neither shows major signs of wear and tear. This is especially impressive because, while testing them for review purposes, I’ve used them more vigorously than a normal user would, scrubbing pots and pans, bathtubs and oven doors and even a concrete patio floor. In addition to putting them to use on all sorts of surfaces and materials, I’ve used the sponges with mild cleaning agents like dish soap as well as heavy-duty cleaning agents like The Pink Stuff, and they have held up admirably.
Plus, both the Scrub Daddy and the Scrub Mommy are excellent when it comes to restoring pots, pans and other cookware and serving pieces that have been battered by years of use. To test the FlexTexture versus the ResoFoam, I used both sponges (with a spot of The Pink Stuff) to clean and polish the bottom of my everyday nonstick skillet. I was so surprised to see that Scrub Mommy’s softer ResoFoam side performed almost equally as well as Scrub Daddy’s FlexTexture when it came to removing splatters from food residue and discoloration of the metal. The FlexTexture edged out the ResoFoam slightly, but both work very well.
Scrub Daddy is perfect for household cleaning jobs
The original Scrub Daddy sponge, which made its debut on “Shark Tank,” boasts several unique design features that make it a standout in a sea of sponge choices. Its FlexTexture, which becomes soft, compressible and absorbent in warm water and firm in cold water, allows you to control the Scrub Daddy’s, well, scrubbing power.
Its smiling face isn’t just there to greet you when it’s time to do the dishes either. The eyeholes, grin and spiky hair serve very specific purposes. The eye holes allow you to insert two fingers into the sponge for a better grip (think of a bowling ball and you’ll get the idea). The smile is designed to clean both sides of utensils like spoons and forks with just one pass —stick a spoon in the Scrub Daddy’s mouth and he will, essentially, lick it clean for you. His spiky hair allows you to use the grooved outer edge of the sponge to clean tight or narrow spaces, like the ribs of a grill pan or the ridges of a dish-drying rack. This is a very clever sponge, in addition to being so darned cheerful!
The Scrub Daddy is incredibly versatile and well designed, and it works wonders for cleaning jobs around the house. Plus, the large circumference of this sponge allows you to clean more surface area in a single pass than you would with a traditional rectangular sponge. That’s why the Scrub Daddy is the perfect cleaning tool for larger jobs like scrubbing a tub, cleaning outdoor spaces like railings or patio tables, or degreasing kitchen cabinets.
Scrub Mommy is everything the Daddy is … and more
The Scrub Mommy sponge has all the features of the Scrub Daddy —and then some. Mommy is a two-sided sponge: one side is made of the same FlexTexture as Daddy, but she also features a ResoFoam side that the brand says is six times more absorbent than a traditional sponge. The ResoFoam is softer and gentler than the rougher FlexTexture side, and it produces a ton of suds, allowing you to use less of your cleaning agents while still ginning up a lot of sudsiness.
If you’re looking for a sponge for use in the kitchen that can handle everything from washing your good wine glasses to scrubbing a stainless steel sink until it shines, the Scrub Mommy is the sponge you want.
Both are pricier than other scrub sponges
All that cleaning power, however, doesn’t come cheap. Depending on where you shop, the Scrub Daddy and Scrub Mommy sponges can be purchased individually for around $4 or as part of a set that brings the price down a bit. For comparison, the Scotch-Brite Dobie Pad, a non-scratch scrub sponge that’s comparable to the Scrub Daddy and Mommy sponges, typically costs less than $2 per sponge.
Bottom line
The Scrub Daddy and Scrub Mommy are two products that CleanTok really gets right: These are fantastic sponges. We especially love them for tough household cleaning jobs, both indoors and outdoors, and for restoring pots and pans that have seen better days.
While we strongly recommend both, the Scrub Mommy edges out the Scrub Daddy for the versatility of her two-sided design. So, if you’re looking for a straightforward answer to the question, “Which should I buy, the Scrub Daddy or the Scrub Mommy?” … the answer is the Scrub Mommy.
