Intex K-42R Sponge

I am thrilled with this product. I had just come to own several various old books, some over 60 years old, and some of which were quite dusty. I had done some research on what professional book restorers do, and all of them recommended the soot sponge (aka "chemical sponge," although there are no actual chemicals) as one very useful method. It definitely worked wonders.Now, just to clarify, this WILL NOT remove stains - as in, anything that has soaked into the material. I noticed many bad reviews complaining about this. Think of this product as a large eraser. You wouldn't expect that to absorb dried in coffee stains or anything, would you? Same principal. It only removes "surface" dirt and soot, whatever is able to be "released" from the material. This is a very important point to take note of.Having said that, I had gone through the process of wiping down the books, which still appeared dingy, with some musty smells. Some restorers recommend vacuuming, but I think that is not necessary in most cases. I then used the sponge, and could immediately see the difference. The covers brightened up right away. Just to be clear, you cannot expect it to "put back" what is not there. That means, if colors have faded due to sunlight or ink fade, that is what you get, faded colors. What this will do is remove any dirt, soot, and dingy materials that are covering the material. And so, while not looking completely brand-new, all the books definitely improved in appearance, as I said, right away.If that is not enough, there is a follow-through method using a "Chemical Clean Cover Gel," but that gets into some serious commitment, and is using harsh, toxic petroleum-based chemicals, best to use only if you know exactly what you are doing. That said, this sponge is the best way to start the restoration process.------To Note: This product can also be used on window and lamp shades, blinds, various upholstery and more.And note that, since it does behave like an eraser, it will leave "droppings" behind, that you will need to clean up as you use it.And you can wash it after use, but never use it wet. Dry it completely.

I was in the cleaning and restoration industry for a bit, (IICRC certified for water, fire, smoke damage restoration) and this was the product they used to clean soot off the walls of fire damaged homes. While I do not know the brand the company used, its the same product.If you have a candle and see the dark soot along the walls or ceilings, this is the product to use to clean it. Using a wet paper towel or Clorox wipes will SET the soot and stain the walls. My wife had a minor fire in the house, (was able to put it out, no one was hurt) and used Clorox wipes to clean the soot and now the soot is set into the paint. Now the area will need to be sealed and repainted (she didn't know any better, stuff happens).Also, if you see corners of ceilings that have black spider webs, it is really a carbon chain of soot bonded ionically. Many people also assume the cobwebs they see in their homes are spider webs, when in reality, they are carbon chains of dust and dead skin cells.

It does work to remove soot on drywall like magic. I just wish that I had not tried to get soot off the wall with water and spray cleaner in one area before I tried this. The sponge doesn't touch the smeared soot in that one area. I had to wash the sponge after cleaning just a small area. It takes a long time to dry after washing.I tried using it on a textured ceiling, and I could see a big difference where I rubbed the sponge, but the texture started coming off. We had a kitchen fire and I read that if you just paint over the soot, it will come through the new paint. So you have to get rid of the soot or else buy some kind of special primer before repainting.

We were converting our fireplace from a wood burning stove to gas logs and upon removing our very big and heavy insert we needed to find a way to do some cleanup. There was a good bit of soot buildup, so I didn't necessarily expect a soot sponge to make it perfect. These soot sponges worked decently well and were able remove some of the soot with relative ease. Make no mistake though, you will have to use some elbow grease and time. I'm sure on smaller jobs these work much better without having to really put in a bunch of time and work. On my bigger job they did help, but did not complete the job. I knew it was going to take a lot of work and the sponges did provide me some help. I think these sponges will be more or less effective depending on the job.

The product was exactly what I wanted and came within the stated period of my order. I was finally able to find this product in a town about 30 miles from me and get it sooner (when I really needed it for a job) but had failed to read the fine print that this item cannot be returned. I had assumed that if I was able to find the product sooner I could return this order. Not the case. Seller and product were fine but I wish there had been a bigger notice of what type of product this was considered and that it couldn't be returned. Always read the fine print.

Unfortunately our house burned down. Most everything was a total loss, but I did try this on a couple of pairs of shoes that were not burned, but soot damaged. Happily, they were dark in color so the soot didn't stain them. The sponge removed soot that I couldn't even see.The only reason I didn't give it a 5 was because I wasn't sure if I could wash and use it again. It didn't come with much instruction. One could use both sides, then cut it in pieces and reveal new sponge in the middle, though.

I like the product, but the delivery was even later than Amazon' s apology date given after missing the original specified delivery window.