This may be one of the more useful things created with 3D printing so far: an antimicrobial kitchen scrubber that’s better than a sponge.
The scrubber is made out of Purement, an antimicrobial filament produced by Korean firm BnK. Creator Jacob Stanton, a Chicago-based product designer, devised it for a 3D design competition for MyMiniFactory that was intended to show off the benefits of Purement.
“Some quick research indicated that kitchen sponges are in fact one of the dirtiest things in a household, the typical sponge is about 200,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat. There are about 10 million bacteria per square inch in a kitchen sponge,” Stanton says.
Objects created with 3D printing can be pretty filthy as well. The layered constructions of 3D printing can be breeding grounds for bacteria like staphylococcus, colon bacillus, and salmonella, according to BnK. The company says that with Purement, “bacteria and germs find that the tiny nooks and crannies of 3D printed items aren’t so appealing, and thus the risk of spreading germs to your family is greatly reduced.”
The design files for the 3D printed scrubber are available to download on Thingiverse.