What Exactly is the Magic in a Magic Eraser
As I was cleaning up some left over crayon marks on the living room wall with a Magic Eraser, I wondered what made this little disappearing gadget work. Is it like sandpaper? Is it indeed magic? What is the that special ingredient that makes the stains disappear - melamine foam.
What is melamine foam? Well, I'm not a super geek by any means but I'll try to explain it in very simple terms, or as I understand it. Melamine foam is a porous foam that is actually as hard as glass. However, when a little moisture is added to it, it becomes very flexible and a micro abrasive sponge.
So how does this micro abrasive sponge clean? Well it does this in two different ways.
1) Just like a sponge, it absorbs dirt into it's porous surface.
2) Just like an abrasive, it scraps the surface of the stain.
So be warn! It can take off more than stains too. I recall my son drawing all over our living room when he was about 2 years old. My walls had been recently painted. The Magic Eraser not only took the crayon marks away, it took a great deal of the paint away as well.
My adorable little artist.
