# Can you clean with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser that is itself dirty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 30, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928 "2020-04-30T22:41:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/1 "2020-04-30T22:41:47Z")
I’ve been wondering this for a while. These things are handy, no doubt about it, but it feels wrong to wipe it across surfaces with the intent of cleaning when the surface of the sponge itself is grody, and it doesn’t seem like the intent is only to use it when cleaning wouldn’t make the sponge surface dirty. Searching Google didn’t come up with anything worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/2 "2020-04-30T22:52:52Z")
They’re made of melamine foam. It works like an abrasive but the open cell foam can get clogged with dirt. You can just cut the dirty part off if you want but it’s still good as an abrasive to remove tough stains. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/3 "2020-04-30T23:17:10Z")
It works just fine as a scrubby thing. After you’ve removed the crayon or what have you, you can wipe the surface down. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/4 "2020-05-01T01:28:04Z")
Trust me. I was the original skeptic when it came to Magic Erasers, and now, I firmly believe that you sell your soul to Beelzebub to make them work so well. It’s a bargain. If you look hard enough, you cam find knock off Magic Erasers, and save a bundle. I googled and googled and bought an entire case of the knock offs for about sixty bucks ten years ago. I’ve given away sack and sacks to friends and relatives, and still probably have enough to last until I die. The eraser disintegrates as it cleans. When you are hanging onto a shred with your fingernails, throw away the dregs and get a new one! I love them! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/5 "2020-05-01T02:23:20Z")
I have used these occasionally in the past and liked them. But as \VOW\ ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/6 "2020-05-01T02:30:35Z")
I have used these occasionally in the past and liked them. But as VOW said, they disintegrate as the clean. Now I worry about these contributing to the micro-plastic problem. Does anyone know if we’re contributing to the demise of some poor sea creatures when we use these? Sorry about the previous post. Hit the Save button too soon and then timed out before getting my editing done. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/7 "2020-05-01T03:50:32Z")
If selling my immortal soul wasn’t enough, now **Hopeful Crow** wants me to feel guilty for polluting the environment! Can’t win for losing! :muttering: ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/8 "2020-05-01T04:24:16Z")
And don’t use them to clean a wall, or any other painted surface, because it will take some of the paint off. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/9 "2020-05-01T06:37:17Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > And don’t use them to clean a wall, or any other painted surface, because it will take some of the paint off. > > :smack: You have to weigh your options. ONE of my granddaughters wrote on a prominent wall with Magic Marker. The surface was too porous to use rubbing alcohol. The Daughter used a Magic Eraser and cleaned the wall. Losing a little bit of paint saved having to paint everywhere. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/10 "2020-05-01T23:04:28Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > If selling my immortal soul wasn’t enough, now **Hopeful Crow** wants me to feel guilty for polluting the environment! > > Can’t win for losing! > > :muttering: > ~VOW LOL. Sorry, didn’t mean to lay a guilt trip on you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/11 "2020-05-01T23:13:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They’re made of melamine foam. It works like an abrasive but the open cell foam can get clogged with dirt. You can just cut the dirty part off if you want but it’s still good as an abrasive to remove tough stains. So what if I’m cleaning to clean, not remove stains? Am I defeating the purpose by rubbing the dirty foam all over the place? Am I replacing all the dust and grime that’s there now with the grime on the sponge from before? That’s basically what I was wondering. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/12 "2020-05-02T02:17:51Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > You have to weigh your options. > > ONE of my granddaughters wrote on a prominent wall with Magic Marker. The surface was too porous to use rubbing alcohol. The Daughter used a Magic Eraser and cleaned the wall. > > Losing a little bit of paint saved having to paint everywhere. > ~VOW I had used it to remove fingerprints around a light switch. That was overkill, in this case. For future reference, pet stain remover will take permanent marker out of carpet if it’s fresh (i.e. your 3-year-old niece comes out of her room with a marker in her hand and announces that she’s drawn a picture). She’s 20 now, and yes, she does know that she did this. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-clean-with-a-mr-clean-magic-eraser-that-is-itself-dirty/852928/13 "2020-05-02T04:28:47Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > So what if I’m cleaning to clean, not remove stains? Am I defeating the purpose by rubbing the dirty foam all over the place? Am I replacing all the dust and grime that’s there now with the grime on the sponge from before? That’s basically what I was wondering. The Eraser disintegrates and takes the crud with it. If you are cleaning the bathroom sink, or the shower, the disintegrated Eraser and crud get washed down the drain. If you have cleaned Magic Marker off a wall, the disintegrated Eraser plus Magic Marker dust fall to the floor, and are cleaned up when you vacuum or mop. ~VOW