These are great for a tough scrub. There are little nubs all over the pads. The four pack is very convenient as it allows me to assign a color to a job to prevent cross-contamination. I use the blue to clean pots and pans and the green to clean produce. The red is in my garage for cleaning rust off of tools, etc. and the orange is just a spare right now. After a few months of use, these are still like new. The garage one has taken the most beating as the materials are often very rough but it is still usable. For household uses, a simple rinse under water cleans them off but I also use a bit of dish soap to remove harmful bacteria. You can use these to help open jars but I found that the stiffness made it difficult for me to get a good grip on larger jars as the edges don't flex easily enough to wrap around and the nubs hurt my hand. I have delicate skin on my hands, so this will probably be fine for some people, especially men. Overall a very good buy and a useful kitchen gadget.