[image swiped from Michael's Luffas]
loofah, luffa, lufah. It goes by a lot of spellings, which I think are all correct. If you haven’t seen one look here.
Normally you use it to scrub yourself in the shower. I’ve ran across one in a health shop named Michael’s Original Luffa Washing-Up Scouring pad. And I thought, what a brilliant idea!
Not much packaging, just a cardboard label around it. With a string so you can hang it to dry.
Let me share with you what the label contains…
In the Philippines, people wash their dishes using a luffa instead of a plastic scourer. Luffas are durable, effective, and far better for the environment as they biodegrade when worn out.
Michael’s Original Luffa Scouring Pad’s[sic] are ethically and sustainably grown on his family farm in the Philippines (NB luffas are plants grown on land).
Bought directly from the farm at a fair price, your purchase supports less privileged families and prevents environmental degradation.
Michael’s Luffas are durable and tough enough for all your washing up and surfaces (soak baked on food first). They are gentle enough for cleaning non-stick surfaces, fruit and vegetables (and also your body).
Michael’s Luffas are clean and hygienic. Rinse and air dry by hanging them up or wash them in the dish/clothes washer. Luffas are biodegradable, so after their natural life, feed your compost or wormery with them, not the land fill.
If everyone used Michael’s Original scouring Luffas instead of plastic scourers, it is estimated we would avoid the equivalent of 150 double-decker buses of non-biodegradable landfill a year.
Luffas are a natural product hence size and shape may vary.
My verdict?
I’ve used them right away as I was looking to replace my used up scourer. A bit hard to use as they tend to be quite unflexible when used for the first time. I would recommend soaking it up in water first. It did scratch my nails. And scratched up the non-stick pans as I probably scrubbed up too hard. Didn’t work as well as my stainless steel scourers on tough baked on dirt (yes, I soaked them first, sometimes overnight). And found it quite unwieldy – couldn’t scrub at the bottom of plates and mug handles and in between the fork tines.
Maybe it takes getting used to. I still have it hanging there by the sink and alternate between using that and the normal scourer which I still need if I don’t want to scratch my pans (or maybe i shouldn’t be using non-sticks anyway). But I still think it is worth trying it out though it might not be for everyone.
So let me know if you love it or hate it? I think I’m somewhere in between. I so much want to love it, but I just can’t.
