Acrylic yarn...AHA use!

Having just had dinner at a friend's house, I learned that acrylic yarn crocheted in a circle approximately 5" in diameter can serve as a very eco sponge!  WHAAAT??!  YEAH!  For reals!  She showed me.  She cleans all her dishes with the acrylic disk and it just takes all the grease off.

A google search brings us to the MAKE magazine blog that informs us these disks are called Tawashis and the reason why this "sponge" works - the synthetic fibers act as microfiber and acrylic attracts grease.