Many places selling imported Luffa (Loofah) sponges want you to throw away your sponge at least every month.  In our opinion, you will probably throw it away after the first use because it is so harsh on your skin. We believe these other suppliers are just trying to get you to buy more of their inferior sponges in order to make more money by using scare tactics. When you purchase "Luffa Gardens" organic naturally grown and hand processed Luffa (Loofah) sponges, you are in for a great experience. We personally have used many of our Luffa sponges for 3 months, and even some of our Luffa Sponges for more than a year. We DO recommend cleansing them regularly by washing them with soap (which you probably do already when you use it) or by throwing it in the dishwasher or washing machine on occasion (make sure to ONLY air dry your Luffa). In the shower, we recommend adding a rope to the Luffa sponge in order to hang it up so it will air dry quicker between showers.