I love these little slices of loofah!
Here are five reasons we always have at least one in our shower as our soap "dish":
It allows the soap to dry better, not resting in water, which makes the soap last longer and stay harder.
Less cleaning of gooey soapy messes. Cleaning the shower is one of my most disliked household chores*. The less I need to do it, the better!
Every last sliver of soap is used up. Once it's small, squish it into the loofah for...
A great occasional exfoliating wash! I always love it when I'm the one who gets to use up the last of the soap this way.
Zero waste! No garbage - compost that loofah when you're done with it!
Loofah's are made from the dried out insides of a gourd (picture a really big long english cucumber). The longer you use your loofah, the softer and more flexible it becomes. It really is such a great simple addition to your shower!
Keeping Loofahs Clean & Healthy
Loofahs should be cleaned regularly as it can be an ideal place for bacteria to grow. But don't worry, it's simple and quick! Here are some cleaning options; choose one that works best for you.
After rinsing off any extra soap:
Toss it in your dishwasher
Bring a pot of water to a boil, insert loofah and boil for several minutes
Submerge in a white vinegar and hot water solution (1:1 ratio) for several minutes & rinse
Submerge in a bowl of hot water with a few drops of tea tree oil for several minutes & rinse
Put the damp loofah in the microwave for 20 seconds or so
With all of these options, air dry when done. If not cleaned regularly, loofahs should be replaced every 3-4 weeks. And remember, toss it in your compost! It is a fantastic addition to any backyard or green bin compost!
*My dislike of cleaning the shower actually stopped me from switching from body wash to bar soap for quite a while. I had heard about bar soap leaving more residue and I did not want to have to clean the shower more often. Our family has been using my goat's milk soap and shampoo bars in the shower for the last few years and I've barely noticed a difference, if any at all. Also, using the loofah to keep the soap off the shower shelf and running down the wall stops goopy build up around the soap and the area below it AND extends the life of the soap! Win-win!
(As always, other than links to my own products, any links included in this post will bring you to more information, not where to buy a product.)