US Patent 8077555 Sponge replacement and reminder system and method

A method and system for identifying when a cleaning article, such as a sponge, should be replaced or disposed within a period of time is disclosed. A cleaning article such as a sponge is labeled with a time increment that will act as an expiration date or reminder for the user. The time increment may be in month increments that can be abbreviated or spelled. At the end of the time increment, the user will be reminded that he has used the sponge longer than the time increment by seeing the time increment on the sponge. The sponge will be replaced with a sponge having a new time increment.