This Is What Makes the Magic Eraser So Magical

If you’ve ever used a Magic Eraser to help you clean, you know how amazing the product is. It can be used to remove dirt, grime, and unwanted scratches and scuffs in the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and any other room (or surface) you have in your house. Scuff marks on the mudroom wall? Gone! Coffee-mug rings on the white kitchen table that you thought were there to stay? Clean! Magic Erasers can be, well, magic.

So, how does a tiny white sponge that functions with a little bit of water added to it work so well? What’s the magic that goes into a Magic Eraser? It comes down to one powerful ingredient.

The main ingredient in the Magic Eraser is melamine foam, which is made of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. This foam is an effective sponge-like material. The combination of hard and soft structures within the “sponge” is what makes the magic. Melamine foam is harder than what makes up most stains, but it’s softer than most of the surfaces those stains are on. This allows the Magic Eraser to remove stains without scratching the surface underneath or around the stain.

Ever notice how a Magic Eraser sort of disintegrates as you scrub? Its sponge-like cell structure is delicate enough that it wears off on the durable layer under the stain. In other words, the scrubbing of the sponge loosens the dirt, while its open-cell structure soaks up and grabs the grime. Want to get every part of your house sparkling clean?

If you’re a little skeptical about how well this product really works, read this review on the Mr. Clean website:

“Mr. Clean Magic Eraser stinks. My son drew on a recently painted wall with a Sharpie (the brand name, not a cheap knockoff), small drawing, but a drawing nonetheless. I figured the best way to have him learn his lesson was to go up there, scrub for a long time, then I’ll go finish it up (he’s only six). Nope. I handed him the Magic Eraser and told him to go upstairs and clean the wall. Literally two minutes later he comes down, ‘I’m all done Daddy.’ I walk up to check, nothing. Thanks to Mr. Clean and his ‘magic eraser’ I now have to figure out another way to teach my kids not to draw on walls.”

Now that you know the science behind this magical product, cleaning might be a little more enjoyable. On second thought, probably not, but cleaning with a Magic Eraser will help to cut down on scrubbing time.