Sponges that don't smell

Scrub Daddy Scrub Mommy Dual-Sided Sponge has the best record for staying fresh: 30 of 33 shoppers who wrote about smell said it stayed fresh. Scrub Daddy Sponge Daddy is close behind at 30 of 34. Scotch-Brite Scrub Dots Non-Scratch Sponge has the weakest record here at 6 of 17, and 53% of its reviews say it gets smelly.

  • 139 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Nov 2018 to Oct 2026

Updated . How we count

Did it stay fresh? What shoppers said
  1. Scrub Daddy Scrub Mommy Dual-Sided Sponge 33 said either way
  2. Scrub Daddy Sponge Daddy 34 said either way
  3. Scotch-Brite Scrub Dots Non-Scratch Sponge 17 said either way

Share of shoppers who stated an outcome for smell. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Best record Scrub Daddy Scrub Mommy Dual-Sided Sponge 30 of 33 say it stayed fresh See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

Both Scrub Daddy sponges draw few smell complaints, at 8% and 10% of their reviews, and 40% and 42% also say they last. For Scotch-Brite, 53% of reviews say the sponge gets smelly.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points shoppers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1

Scrub Daddy

Scrub Mommy Dual-Sided Sponge

Best for fresh and long-lasting

30/33 say it stayed fresh

30 of 33 shoppers said it stayed fresh, and the maker's own site reviews agree at 5 of 6, which we show but don't count. 40% also say it lasts, but 8% call it too expensive.

What shoppers praise

  • Lasts long 40%
  • Scrubs well 18%
  • Good value 5%

What shoppers complain about

  • Too expensive 8%
  • Falls apart 5%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 30 of 33
  • Brand site 5 of 6 shown, not counted
2

Scrub Daddy

Sponge Daddy

30/34 say it stayed fresh

Wearing out is the main complaint: 15% of reviews say it falls apart, though 42% say it lasts. On smell it holds up, with 30 of 34 saying it stayed fresh.

What shoppers praise

  • Lasts long 43%
  • Scrubs well 15%
  • Good value 10%
  • Doesn't scratch 5%

What shoppers complain about

  • Falls apart 15%
  • Too expensive 5%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 30 of 34
  • Brand site 5 of 6 shown, not counted
3

Scotch-Brite

Scrub Dots Non-Scratch Sponge

6/17 say it stayed fresh

Smell is the main complaint: 53% of its reviews say it gets smelly, and just 6 of 17 said it stayed fresh. The maker's own site is lower still at 1 of 10, which we show but don't count.

What shoppers praise

  • Lasts long 16%
  • Rinses clean 11%
  • Doesn't scratch 11%
  • Scrubs well 11%

What shoppers complain about

  • Doesn't scrub 11%
  • Too expensive 11%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 6 of 17
  • Brand site 1 of 10 shown, not counted

Share of 19 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 3 products ranked here carry 1,699 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about smell, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Nov 2018 and Oct 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Target also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. We show them on product cards but never count them, because brand-site reviews run more positive than store reviews of the same products.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

We count what shoppers report. Nothing here is safety advice: use heaters, fans and other appliances as the maker's manual says.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most shoppers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Scrub Daddy Scrub Mommy Dual-Sided Sponge Target (40 reviews counted)
  2. Scrub Daddy Sponge Daddy Target (40 reviews counted)
  3. Scotch-Brite Scrub Dots Non-Scratch Sponge Target (19 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which sponge doesn't smell?

Scrub Daddy Scrub Mommy Dual-Sided Sponge has the best record (30 of 33), followed by Scrub Daddy Sponge Daddy (30 of 34). Both sit well ahead of Scotch-Brite Scrub Dots Non-Scratch Sponge (6 of 17). People tend to write about smell when it bothers them, so read these as what reviewers who mentioned it said.

How do I keep a sponge from smelling?

Rinse it and squeeze it out after each use, let it dry between uses and replace it often. Even Scrub Daddy Scrub Mommy Dual-Sided Sponge had a few smell complaints, at 8% of its reviews.

Does the Scotch-Brite Scrub Dots Non-Scratch Sponge get smelly?

Reviewers are split. 6 of 17 said it stayed fresh, and 53% of its reviews say it gets smelly. Fewer reviewers weighed in on it than on the Scrub Daddy sponges, so the record is thinner.

Do Scrub Daddy sponges last a long time?

Reviewers often say so. 40% of Scrub Daddy Scrub Mommy Dual-Sided Sponge reviews and 42% of Scrub Daddy Sponge Daddy reviews say it lasts. 15% of the Sponge Daddy reviews say it falls apart, so wear is its main complaint.

Related problems

Kitchen sponge Sponges that last Top pick: Scrub Daddy Scrub Mommy Dual-Sided Sponge 220 shopper reports Kitchen sponge Sponges that don't scratch Top pick: Scotch-Brite Zero Scratch Scrub Sponge 205 shopper reports Dish soap Dish soap that cuts grease Top pick: Dawn Platinum Powerwash Dish Spray 182 shopper reports

HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.