The Scrubbie on 'Shark Tank': What is the cost, who are the founders and is it really a copy of Scrub Daddy?
For most home-cooks and cooking enthusiasts watching the dirty dishes pile up steadily in the kitchen sink is one of their biggest pet peeves. While cooking and eating are mostly fun tasks, cleaning up definitely doesn't make it to the list of fun tasks. Soaking the dishes, applying the dishwashing soap, scrubbing the dishes, and finally rinsing them, is not only extremely tiresome and mundane but also we end up wasting a lot of water in the process.
Jeff Dakin, one of the co-founders of The Scrubbie came up with the idea for creating a product that could help with scrubbing and rinsing at the same time, thus not only saving time and water but also making the cleaning process a fun activity. His idea gave birth to The Scrubbie which claims to be a 'universal cleaning attachment' that can clean up everything from your dishes and countertops to patio furniture with minimal effort. Read on to know all about this innovative cleaning appliance.
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What is The Scrubbie?
Scrubbie is nothing but a scrubbing attachment with a sponge that can be attached to your kitchen sink's spray guns, modern pull-down faucets, or even your garden hose to clean up the mess in no time. The website describes the product as, "Your new best friend when it comes to getting things done, The Scrubbie is a universal scrubbing attachment that is compatible with most kitchen sink auxiliary spray guns and modern pull-down style faucets. It also screws on to your garden hose!!"
If you're wondering what's the need for a Scrubbie or what are the advantages of using this product, then we got you covered. One of the top benefits of using this nifty cleaning attachment is the amount of time and water you'd be saving upon. By simply attaching the sponge to flowing water source at the same place at the same time is a real game changer. Scrubbie is also really easy to use, which means you don't need to call in your plumber to make any adjustments or changes to your existing faucets or kitchen sink to use it. Just remove it from its package, give it a few twists and a post to connect it to kitchen sinks or garden hoses!
As if the ease of use isn't a huge plus point of this product, the reusable and easy cleaning aspect makes it even more appealing. You can simply toss your Scrubbie attachment and sponge into the dishwasher to clean it. It is reportedly 100% dishwasher safe and reusable. When it is finally time for you to replace the sponge, you can purchase just them separately without the attachment, making it extremely cost-effective and practical.
You can watch the founders of The Scrubbie demonstrating how to use the cleaning attachment here
Who are the founders?
Three Wichita-based buddies who dubbed themselves as the "Side Hustle Homies” are the founders of The Scrubbie. The “Side Hustle Homies” are Jeff Dakin, Matt Hosey and Tyler Kessler. In an interview with Kansas.com, Jeff explained how he has always had an 'inventor's brain' and came up with several ideas. Despite coming up with some great ideas, unfortunately for him other people had already beat him to get a patent.
Jeff stumbled upon the idea for The Scrubbie while he was doing dishes after dinner. One night he found himself struggling to get rid off the food stuck to a dish with the metal end of the sink's spray gun. At that moment he thought, "There had to be a better way,” he said. “What if we put a sponge on the end of this?" he wondered. He then roped in his friend Matt, a local independent contractor in oil and gas leasing to help him with making his idea a reality. Matt brought in his childhood friend Kessler, a local entrepreneur to the team. The trio spent five years perfecting the prototype of The Scrubbie. Once they were happy with their prototype they reached out to professional product engineers for finalizing the design for The Scrubbie in such a way so that the rubber connector attached to the sponge could be compatible with various sized nozzles with a water-tight seal.
They showcased The Scrubbie at the 2019 Wichita Women's Fair, their product was an instant hit amongst the fair's attendees. When they returned to the fair in 2020, they learned that one of their former marketing manager had sent out an application on behalf of them to 'Shark Tank', and they had been selected to appear on the show.
What is the cost and where to buy The Scrubbie from?
A nozzle with three scrubbie sponges costs just $14.99. Three packs of replacement sponges are $4.99. You can also get a year’s subscription that sends you three new sponges every other month (18 per year) for $14.99. You can order your very own Scrubbie from the brand's website here.
In an Instagram post, Scrubbie user Clayton Williams says, "Who knew something so small could be such a game changer! This has cut my cleaning time in half and made it much easier on my kids to help with the dishes. Win, Win!"
Where is The Scrubbie now?
The Side Hustle Homies aka the founders of The Scrubbie are currently working on designing more attachments for their unique cleaning device.
In one Instagram post, they wrote: "Now that we've officially passed the autumnal #equinox, we thought we'd point you to this handy "Ultimate Fall Cleaning Checklist" from @apartmenttherapy. As you consider tackling this list, just know that we're here for you, ready to help you with the tasks on your list that are sprayer-compatible. Supercharge Your Sprayer today with The Scrubbie, because cutting your cleaning time in half is a smart move for any season."
Who will steal the deal?
Lori Greiner might sit out of this deal considering The Scrubbie is identical to one of her other companies The Scrub Daddy. In fact, as the logo is very identical to the company, many might be irked with the similarities. Don't you think so?
Do you think any Shark would even consider it? The brand's sales numbers and profit margins will ultimately be the major deciding factor for the sharks on whether to invest in the business or not. So, we will just have to wait and watch to see if the Sharks even make a deal.
‘Shark Tank’ Season 12 Episode 9 returned to ABC after the winter break on January 8, 2021, at 8 pm ET. Catch the latest episode featuring products like Jiggy Puzzles, The Scrubbie, The Bumbling Bee and XTorch on April 23, 2021, from 8 pm ET to 9 pm ET.
Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.