These 7 Kitchen Gadgets Will End Your Dish Scrubbing Woes

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Most people look at a mountain of dirty dishes, grab any old sponge, squirt a little dishwashing liquid, and apply elbow grease. But should doing the dishes in 2025 still be this hard or this boring? Burnt and baked-on food is the same as it ever was. Thankfully, the way we scrub it off our dishes has evolved.

Who hasn't used a smelly old sponge until it disintegrated in their hand? (Pro-tip: sponges need cleaning, too.) Some of us have probably even wondered, as we scrubbed a grungy baking sheet, whether we were adding more dirt than we were removing. Our sympathies go out to anyone who's accidentally — and permanently — scratched their favorite pan with a hard-bristle brush, shortening the life of your cookware.

The good news is that there are plenty of new tools out there that can make these nightmare dish scenarios things of the past. The better news is that you don't have to do that research yourself. We scoured the internet — pun intended — to figure out which of the latest dish scrubbing gadgets had the best reviews. The products we've chosen have all notched at least four stars on Amazon, and have been recommended specifically for washing dishes, although several of our choices can make other areas of your cleaning life easier, as well.

Dirty dishes are not one-size-fits-all, which is what makes the OXO Good Grips Soap Dispensing Dish Brush a good investment at just over $23 on Amazon. The handle is silicone and reportedly comfortable in the hand. The bristles are nylon, so they won't damage your cookware, but they're still robust enough to do the job. If you need to scrape, just flip the brush over and use the built-in scraper. This brush has a refillable reservoir for your dish soap of choice, and the push-button dispenser prevents you from using too much of it. Several earlier reviews on Amazon mentioned that this button leaked, but the latest version of the brush seems to have corrected the issue.

The bonus to this brush is that it comes with its own stand, which means it won't sit in a puddle on your sink, and it's going to dry out more completely. One Amazon reviewer pointed out an added benefit to this, writing: "The bristles have a chance to dry off and therefore end up lasting far longer." The water drains into the stand, which can then be emptied with a simple tilt, so you don't have to scrub the sink to clean up after your dish scrubber.

The Black+Decker PKS160 Power Scrubber looks like a sander, but let's face it, some baked-on messes require that kind of scrubbing power. Unlike the OXO brush above, this one is battery-powered, so it requires far less physical effort to do its job. You might call it the point-and-shoot dish scrubber. As one Amazon reviewer put it: "It's great for when you have to work at rubbing some food off. Just some scouring powder and let it do its thing with gentle pressure." This product weighs 12.8 ounces and fits comfortably in the hand, which makes it a good investment for anyone with arthritic hands or other dexterity issues. This power scrubber runs on four AA batteries, so there's no need to wait for it to recharge mid-wash. In addition, it's fully submersible, which makes it good for scrubbing pots. 

This scrubber costs around $26 on Amazon and comes with two removable scrubbing pads. The pads attach with velcro, and one Amazon reviewer cautions, "The scrubber pads ... pull apart if you try to remove them, so don't take off the pads unless they are worn out." Black+Decker doesn't sell replacement pads for this item, but there are options on Amazon for around $11. There's also a Bristle Brush for Power Scrubber attachment available as a separate purchase. Finally, this scrubber is powerful and versatile enough to scrub the stovetop, sink, tub, glass doors, tile, and more.

The Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber looks like an electric toothbrush, and who among us hasn't grabbed an old toothbrush to tackle those hard-to-reach places? The basic Rubbermaid model, which costs $21 on Amazon, comes with just one "multipurpose" brush head, but there is a second super-powered option, the Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber 18-Piece Kit, sold for $36, that includes three additional brush heads and a flat head with a microfiber scrubbing pad. This product features an ergonomic grip, and, at .64 pounds, it's smaller and lighter than the Black+Decker power scrubber. While the Black+Decker scrubber takes four AA batteries, the Rubbermaid uses just two (and they are included with your purchase). 

A pleased Amazon reviewer writes, "Doing dishes is now a breeze. Seriously, this thing is like having a cheat code for dishes." On the other hand, that same — male — reviewer recommended this scrubber as a "great gift." Gentlemen, please don't give your wives cleaning gadgets as holiday gifts. You will more than likely live to regret it.

Like the Black+Decker scrubber above, this product is useful for more than just dishes and is marketed as a bathroom scrubber, for which it has received a great deal of online appreciation. In the words of one very pleased Amazon reviewer: "If you are like me and you're ultra lazy, this tool is for you. Or if you're the opposite of me and love having a really deep clean, this tool is also for you."

The Horsepower Scrubber is an As-Seen-On-TV product. Like the other scrubbers on this list, this one is cordless and waterproof. It lands in the rechargeable category, which means there's no extra spending on batteries. The Horsepower Scrubber sells for $26 on Amazon, but there is an option to buy a two-pack, which, oddly, sells for $83. Be cautious when you order. The Horsepower Scrubber has a grip like a hair dryer and is the heaviest scrubber on this list, at one pound. It comes with five heads, from sponge to brushes and even steel wool, which is great for those of us who don't like getting those little metal bits all over our hands. The heads attach with velcro. There's no bag or other container included with this scrubber, so buyers should be aware that, while the plethora of attachments may be a plus, keeping all the components together could be an issue.

As for the Horsepower Scrubber's effectiveness, one Amazon reviewer reported, "I tried them on Revere Ware pots, and used the stainless steel scrubber. WOW. It took a little more arm work, but [my] black bottom pot was now copper again." On the con side, the heads on this scrubber are large at nearly 3 inches in diameter. Another Amazon user summed it up, writing, "It's too big for [a] cup, it'll do great with plates, bowls and pots. [...] If you get it for all dishes, ain't happenin'."

This isn't a scrubber, but if you're one of those who tends to squeeze out too much dish soap, it could be a blessing. In these penny-pinching, eco-conscious times, the Dawn Platinum Powerwash Dish Spray Starter Kit dispenses just the right amount with very little spritz. The spray is not a thick liquid like regular Dawn dish soap, but it reportedly doesn't need to be. Amazon reviewers rave about the liquid's strength. One Amazon reviewer wrote, "It's like regular Dawn soap on steroids!" Another Amazon user concurred, reporting, "I especially love it for cleaning my fancy pans that don't have a non-stick coating. You know the ones — they love to hang on to anything you cook, especially eggs and searing marks. A few sprays of this and that stubborn film wipes right off without the elbow grease." So if a machine-powered dish scrubber feels like too much of a change, a change of dishwashing liquid might be just the thing. 

The starter kit plus one refill runs for under nine dollars on Amazon, which may be pricey for dish soap, but the pre-measured sprays may mean that it lasts longer. It comes in four different scents and an unscented "free and clear" version. Also, thanks to the spray nozzle, this product is useful for weird, hard-to-clean items like cheese graters and sieves.

Sometimes you want to go old school and tackle the dishes with a sponge and bare hands or, if you're a conscientious dish washer, kitchen gloves. The selection of sponges is enormous, and many of us reach for the cheapest or the ones we've reached for all our lives. But all sponges are no longer created equal.

Why make a change in something so basic? There are plenty of reasons. Dirty sponges can smell funky, or, worse, spread harmful bacteria. If you're in the habit of using a sponge until it disintegrates, please stop. And while we're talking about changing habits, consider Skura Style Skrubby Sponges. They're pricier than ordinary grocery store sponges, at $15 for a pack of four on Amazon. But a large percentage of reviewers insist that Skuras last longer and are worth the extra expense. 

These sponges are two-sided. According to one Amazon reviewer: "The scrubber side ... tackles stuck-on food without scratching my pans. ... The regular sponge side holds up really well — the material doesn't disintegrate into little pieces or easily rip." What's more, the pattern on this sponge fades as you use it to let you know when it's time to toss it. Plus, these sponges are designed to be odor-resistant. If thousands of positive Amazon reviews are any indication, these sponges actually live up to the hype, and you don't need batteries or a charging cable to use them.

Different dish tasks require different tools. In coming up with the items for this list, we considered dishes, pots, pans, and other cookware, so as to offer a variety of solutions for a variety of messes. 

We focused on items sold on Amazon, as they have the broadest selection and ship across the United States, making the items more readily available to consumers throughout the country. The items we selected all have at least four stars on Amazon — although it should be noted that many of those reviews are for use of the items on surfaces other than dishes, so we did a deep dive for dish-focused comments. 

Finally, in coming up with "kitchen gadgets," we cast a wide net. Rather than focus solely on mechanical products, we looked for the best-reviewed dish washing products, including the humble but irreplaceable kitchen sponge.