It’s a common misconception that you should never use a sponge when cleaning your motor. What we actually mean is, don’t use the cheap yellow jobs you see builders using to clean brickwork.

In the real world an uber-quality sponge, like this premium Smooth Egg item from Nippon Shine, can often be safer and easier to use than a microfibre mitt. There we said it. We totally went there.

Constructed with three types of dense polyurethane, this puppy is regarded as the ultimate for foaming up loads of delicious suds.

And won’t scratch your paintwork by holding all the grime on its surface. In fact, as this one is already a genuine best-seller in Japan, we can see it being popular here.

Price £7

For more info see Nippon Shine