All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
I was perfectly content washing dishes with a regular old sponge—and occasionally a bristled brush for the burnt-on bits on my pans. Then I found the Sonic Power Electric Scrubber.
I watched videos of people wielding this handheld battery-powered electric scrubber on dusty cars, mucked-up shower grout, sinks, and blackened pots and I was skeptical, don’t get me wrong. But I also wanted to see if I could take it from the soap scum on my shower grout to the grease on the bottom of my Dutch oven like you’d take a blazer from workday to night out.
The Sonic Scrubber seemed too good to be true—which was exactly why I wanted it. Best-case scenario, my kitchen backsplash sparkled like never before. Worse-case scenario, I’d have a new cautionary tale about falling victim to social media marketing to tell at brunch.
How does the Sonic Power Electric Scrubber work?
The Sonic Scrubber is basically a heavy-duty version of an abrasive dish scrubber—but it employs the power of electricity so you don’t have to do the scrubbing work yourself. It’s handheld and battery-powered, with interchangeable heads designed for various cleaning tasks—think a giant version of an electric tooth brush. Simply select which of the four attachments you need, click it into place, press the button on the handle, and watch it spin to life. You can use it to clean your dishes, cookware, shower, stovetop, or, yes, even your car.
The Sonic Scrubber spins at two different speeds. Press a button—once to get it started, and again to increase the speed setting—place it on your grimy stainless-steel skillet, and let it go to town scrubbing away. Four different brush heads allow you to scour, scrub, and polish. There’s a short bristled hard brush for caked on messes, a long bristled soft brush for more gentle scrubbing, a scouring pad for messes like baked on grease or burnt-to-the-pan cheese, and a polishing brush to use for a final gleaming finish. The scouring and polishing brush fix to the scrubber using a velcro attachment, while the other two click into place.
What I like about the Sonic Power Electric Scrubber
I used the Sonic Power Electric Scrubber over the course of a week to clean especially tough kitchen messes. I made some noodles with red sauce, cooked two different garlicky, cheesy pastas in my Dutch oven, and finally tackled the burnt bottom of a stainless-steel pan. Then I scrubbed away at my long neglected shower grout, kitchen sink, and stovetop.
The rotating brushes could scrape and scrub cooked Parmesan clumps off my Dutch oven way more efficiently than my sponge could, and it made quick work of the tomato sauce crusted onto my nonstick pan. I used both brush attachments and found neither left any scratches on my cookware, but I preferred using the more delicate soft brush to be safe. I noticed its longer construction and feather-soft bristles produced more soap, and I never worried about it leaving any marks on my cookware. The scrubber spins quickly, which helps it clean fast and effectively, but it wasn’t so powerful that I couldn’t control it or would get hit by any stray splashes of soapy water.
The moment the scrubber really shone was when I used it against the burnt bottom of a stainless-steel pan. I tried the scouring brush—a circular coarse pad to scrape and scrub—paired with some soap in the hopes of removing some of the mess. Within a few minutes, I started to see a glimpse of the shiny metal beneath. A handful of minutes later and it was like I had a brand new pan—no burnt bottom and not a single scratch in sight.
I turned my attention away from the kitchen and looked at what other messes in my home I could wield the scrubber against. Using the scouring pad again, I decided to attack my shower, sink, and stovetop. Sitting cross-legged in my bathtub, I watched the scrubber visibly clear built-up soap scum, without requiring much elbow grease from me. I tried off my sink next and then my stovetop. Using some Bar Keeper’s Friend, I watched in delight as the scouring brush kicked off burnt bits of food and filth with just a few movements of my arm. It felt a little like mowing a lawn: The machine did all the work while I just moved it to the next area of attack.
What I didn’t like about the Sonic Power Electric Scrubber
The Sonic Scrubber has two speeds, but both are pretty intense. I often found myself wishing for at least one slower speed, especially since the scrubber could sometimes lose control and swerve to the side or splash soap when hitting smaller corners—specifically when dealing with bigger tasks like a shower or stovetop. Because of this, I definitely wouldn’t trust it on more delicate pieces of cookware or glass. It’s also not going to totally eliminate the need for sponges and other scrubbing tools. The scrubber can’t handle small corners or spaces because of its size, so I ended up needing to go back in with a sponge for more delicate and precise cleaning tasks.
Final verdict
Generally, the Sonic Scrubber is a super smart tool that helps expedite dish washing and, in some cases, makes impossible cleaning tasks possible. You probably shouldn’t use the Sonic Scrubber on everything—such as delicate pieces like glassware or China. But it’s still a versatile and catchall tool you can use on your bathroom tile and in your kitchen—on your shower grout, the burnt bottom of that pan, and the sauce-covered dishes from Thanksgiving dinner.
