This sponge has proven itself worth the purchase several times over. One side is soft for easy cleaning of dishes, countertops and stovetops, for general wiping, etc. The other side is meant for scrubbing stubborn stuck on foods. It safely cleans glass stove tops and non-stick pans without scratching. It's a great all around cleaning tool for the kitchen. Put it in the dishwasher to sanitize it. I like how Scotch has color coded their sponges. There is a chart on the description page showing which color/sponge works best for what items. If you need something stronger for scrubbing pans, check out the green one, or the stronger grey one for extreme scrubbing of things like oven racks. They each have a sponge side and a tougher scrubbing side. Contrarily, if you need something gentler, check out the purple one, or the pink one for the most delicate items like glasses or stemware. Note that the blue one is the only one that is non-scratch.  Happy scrubbing!