ASOTVI Review of Zorbees

What is it? An absorbent towel for cleaning and absorbing liquids.

ASOTVI Rating: Conditionally Works

Major Claims:

• Will Pick Up and Hold Up to 20 oz. of liquid
• Over 27X more absorbent than cotton or paper towels

There are ten (10) Zorbeez in a box, six (6) smaller yellow square ones (approx. 15 in. x 15 in.), and four (4) larger orange ones (approx 27.5 in. x 19 in.). The larger orange ones are noticeably thicker than the smaller yellow ones. Please note that the instructions advise to wash them in a gentle cycle and not to dry them in the dryer to prevent shrinkage. They must air dry.

With respect to the first major claim, we used one of the larger Zorbeez to attempt to absorb twenty (20) ounces of water. The product successfully absorbed all of the water and held it. This claim is true and works as advertised.

However, the second claim is that Zorbeez can absorb OVER twenty-seven (27) times as much as a cotton or paper towel. We put that claim to the test with a simple paper towel. In our evaluation we used a shot glass of water, normally holding 1.5 oz. We didn’t fill it 100% full, but almost, ensuring for the benefit of the doubt that there was at least one ounce of water in it (see video). We then used a generic paper towel (actually the plain ones bought in bulk from a national shopping club), nothing fancy, to absorb the water. The paper towel held every drop of water just fine.

This, therefore, meant that for the Zorbeez to fulfill its second claim of being more than 27 times more absorbent than a paper towel, it would need to absorb at least 27 ounces of water, not just 20. We measured that much water, and with a fresh Zorbeez, evaluated whether it could do it or not. It failed.

So while Zorbeez are indeed very absorbent, noticeably so, they don’t hold more than 27 times the water as a common paper towel. We found the latter claim to be exaggerated.