Experts Warn To Ditch One Common Cleaning Tool Immediately For Safer Alternatives

When you're picking the best cleaning tool for the job, sometimes the most effective option isn't the safest. People are being urged to replace their Magic Erasers with natural cleaning products due to the way microplastics are produced with each use. Magic Erasers are made of melamine foam, an abrasive material that feels soft and sponge-like to the touch but is very hard and abrasive on a microscopic level. It can scrub away a wide range of stains that other tools can't seem to touch, even without additional cleaning products. Given the impressively long list of things you can clean with a Magic Eraser, it's not surprising that so many people keep a pack of them in their cleaning arsenal.

But the cleaning pads only stay intact for a short time. Melamine foam breaks into invisibly small pieces as it wears down — and all that extra material doesn't just disappear. Rather, it becomes part of the environment, with potentially negative effects on human health and wildlife. According to the 2024 study published in Environmental Science & Technology, about 6.5 million microplastic fibers are produced per gram of worn-down foam. The study's authors estimate that over a trillion microplastic fibers are released by melamine foam pads each month, and that's just based on sale figures of the foam erasers sold via Amazon.

Microplastics are tiny particles of plastic, most too small to be visible to the naked eye. With so many modern products containing some form of plastic, microplastics can be released from everything from bedding to clothes to cosmetics. In addition to Magic Erasers, other cleaning products are common culprits, including laundry detergents, dish detergents, and toilet bowl cleaners. Microplastics are so prevalent that they're now in the food chain, the rain, and throughout the human body. The smallest microplastics can even get into our cells.

How are all these microplastics affecting our health? Research is still in the early stages — studies so far have been on animals or lab models, so the specific health effects on humans are not yet well understood. But the initial implications don't look good. So far, studies point to a potential link to cancer, heart disease, reproductive issues, and digestive issues. More research is also needed on the worrisome effects of microplastic pollution on wildlife.

Magic Erasers have never been considered particularly eco-friendly, since they're single-use and don't biodegrade. But before the 2024 study, it wasn't certain whether or how much Magic Erasers contributed to microplastic pollution in particular. Now that the data is clear, experts say to avoid using Magic Erasers and use non-plastic products for tough stains instead.

Cleaning brands are being encouraged to work on designing denser melamine sponges, which wear down more slowly and produce fewer microplastics. In the meantime, a natural alternative to Magic Erasers is your best bet for producing less microplastic. In general, reducing plastic exposure as much as you can is a good idea for your health.

One common easy DIY Magic Eraser recipe combines 1 teaspoon of Borax, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, and ½ cup of water. Soak a sponge in the mixture, squeeze out the excess, and scrub as normal. Keep in mind that while Borax is natural, it must be used with caution: wear gloves, avoid inhaling it, and keep it away from kids or pets. As for sponges that aren't made of plastic, try Swedish dishcloths, which are made of cotton and wood pulp and are both reusable and biodegradable. Other popular natural sponges are made of cotton, hemp, or coconut coir.

Another step that the researchers recommend to reduce your microplastic exposure is to filter your tap water. Not all filters can tackle the ultra-tiny size of some microplastics, so look for a filter that removes Class I particles (0.5 microns to 1 micron), such as the Brita Elite Faucet Mount Water Filter or the Brita Hub Countertop Water Filter System.