When I was growing up, I was under the impression that elbow grease would solve almost anything. Toy stuck somewhere? Some elbow grease will get it free. Stripped screw tough to loosen? You just need more elbow grease. Nail going into the wood at a weird angle? Well, a bit of elbow grease will do the trick.

And for all you youngins out there, elbow grease is the tinge of sauce, pizzazz, and power you put behind your effort. If you’re trying to loosen a lug nut on a tire, for example, your elbow grease would be the raw power you put behind the wrench while trying to twist it free. 

A common argument I’ve seen and heard before is that the kids these days don’t appreciate basic elbow grease. That may be why the world is falling apart. I’m guessing not. Those concerns are nothing but hot air. I’ve also come to realize there’s no point in elbow grease, especially when you have effective tools. Tools like the HOTO Wand, which put all of the work into the equation for you — they are the elbow grease.

To truly understand what the hell I’m droning on about, and the tool itself, let’s explore further. Grab a drink or a snack and spin yourself around. 

What is the HOTO Wand?

Dubbed a “cordless spin scrubber,” the HOTO Wand is essentially a wireless, electric scrubbing brush. You attach a brush head, turn it on, and let it buff or scrub its way along. Inside is an electric rotary motor that spins the brush heads 360 degrees. It operates at two intelligent speed modes, with 170 RPM and 250 RPM.

A rechargeable battery will last for 210 minutes on its lowest speed and can be charged via USB-C. There is a USB-C port on the bottom of the Wand, as well.

It’s IPX7 waterproof-rated so it can be used in the water, including in the kitchen, bathroom, or elsewhere. Plus, the anti-slip texture finish ensures a tough grip even in slippery environments.

With all of those features out of the way, the best description of the HOTO Wand is an electric cleaner. You can swap between the twelve attachment heads to clean the surface you intend, from mirrors, glass, and ceramic, to tile, steel and beyond.

What’s with the elbow grease?

Typically, when you’re scrubbing a surface, whether using a sponge or a brush, you have to put a lot of manual labor into the task — elbow grease. When it comes to stains and sticky residues, the harder you scrub, meaning the more effort you put in, the cleaner the surface or item. When you’re scrubbing dishes in the sink, you really have to put effort into getting rid of those big messes.

The HOTO Wand applies its high-power spinning to reduce the need for extra effort. In other words, you can simply press the button, turn it on, and let the brush do all of the work. With some more stubborn messes or stains, you might have to let it run over the area a little longer, but it works nonetheless.

Because it’s ultra-portable and wireless, you can use it virtually anywhere, and I do mean anywhere. You can use it to clean and buff your vehicle or rims, clean pool tiles and pavers, scrub your sink, including outdoor or garage basins, scrub down your shower or bath tiles, clean mirrors, polish glass windows, and much more. 

Now, it’s a smaller surface area brush, with even its largest brush head attachment at about one-and-a-half inches in diameter. So, you’re not going to want to clean large, sweeping surfaces with this thing. That will take you a long time and would be like scrubbing with a toothbrush, I’d imagine. But the surface area of the average walk-in or stand-up shower is reasonable. Certainly a sink or counter.

How do the attachments work?

The attachments include a single large brush, a medium-sized brush, a small brush, a small pointed brush, a medium-sized velcro adapter, four scour pads, and four cloth pads. The scour and cloth pads attach to the velcro adapter, and you can swap out all of the heads and bits freely. 

At the top or head of the HOTO Wand is a square port, think hex wrench. There is a matching stud, if you will, on the rear of each attachment. The studs slide neatly into the port and stick to the Wand via magnets. They hold firmly in place, don’t slide, and aren’t a problem while you’re scrubbing and working. But you can quickly and easily remove them when you want to swap one out.

It’s perhaps the most intuitive and impressive feature of the HOTO Wand. Typically, when tools are designed in this way, the attachments don’t hold steadfast. That’s not the case here. You can scrub, and scrub, and scrub a dub dub to your heart’s content, and those brush heads remain securely locked into place.

How does the HOTO Wand work?

About mid-way down the handle, or Wand, is a physical button. It acts as both the power button and the gear-mode switch. You long press the button to turn it on, and long press again to turn it back off. While it is on, spinning, and active, you simply press the button once to swap between the power modes, low and high.

A white LED indicator just above the button tells you when it’s on — although you can also tell because of the frantically spinning head — and it has two separate lights in a vertical configuration to tell you which mode is active.

There’s not much more to it than that. You select your desired head or attachment, clip it into place, turn on the Wand and start scrubbing. An integrated hook at the bottom flips up so you can hang it up somewhere when you’re done. It also just stands up on its own and is weighted enough that it won’t topple over. Plus, it comes with a mesh bag you can use to store all the attachments and the charging cable.

HOTO has other spin scrub tools

If you need something a little more targeted, HOTO also has an Electric Spin Scrubber and an Electric Kitchen Scrubber. The Spin Scrubber is a bit larger, while the Kitchen Scrubber is remarkably similar to the Wand. But here’s why I prefer the Wand: It’s multi-functional and versatile. It’s easy to clean up, too. So, when you take it outside to wash your wheel wells and rims, you can easily rinse it off before bringing it back in to scrub the shower or toilet bowl.

No, you wouldn’t want to go from the toilet to the dishes. That’s gross. But I suspect if you’re using it in the kitchen sink for dishes, you’re not going to bounce around much anyway. Who knows, though. There are enough brush heads that you could dedicate one to the kitchen and dishes if you want. The Wand is also durable enough that you could disinfect between uses if you felt the need.

Does it scrub good and remove stubborn messes?

HOTO’s marketing materials and product description indicate that the 360-rotating brush heads offer up to five times the cleaning efficiency of manual brushes. Also, instead of a linear motion you’d usually use with a traditional brush — back and forth — the HOTO Wand uses a circular motion.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m no scientist with lab equipment or additional tools testing out these claims. I’m just your average guy, going by experience and feel. What I can tell you is that the HOTO Wand works faster and better than anything I’ve ever used in the past, including traditional hard or steel brushes. I particularly like the less elbow grease part because my hands and arms come away a lot less sore. As I’m nearing 40 and past the age where everything starts hurting randomly, joints above all, I can certainly appreciate tools that go the extra mile for me.

Some places where I tested and used the HOTO Wand include in the shower, to clean our white shower tiles, the bathroom countertops, the kitchen sink, the bathroom sinks, the kitchen counter, outdoor pool tiles, mildewy paver cracks, vehicle rims, a finished garage floor, and a few other similar spaces.

It’s not going to remove long-dried paint stains, unless they’re something like acrylic or waxy and easy to remove anyway. It’s also not going to remove filth or grime that’s been scored into the floors, walls, or tile. You need to be somewhat realistic. However, nearly everything else is fair game. The Wand can remove dried gum or sticky residues, mildew, dirt, general grime, greasy concoctions, smaller debris and dust, and a few other nasties. Absolutely anything you could remove with a manual scrub brush you can remove with this, easier and faster.

What’s the verdict, and the price?

The MSRP, or full price, is $60. However, I have seen the HOTO Wand on sale for $40. It includes everything you’d need, no add-ons or optionals to pay extra for, even at full price. You get the Wand, the twelve heads, the mesh bag, and a charging cable. At full price, the cost is reasonable, but at a sale price, I’d say this one is a steal.

The HOTO Wand is not only going to save you a lot of time scrubbing, but it’s also going to save you a lot of effort. What you could also call legwork, or elbow grease. When you’re spending the day washing your cars, scrubbing the exterior already, and you crouch down to get the rims and wheel wells, it’s added pressure and effort. That leaves me sore, hurting, and angry at the world, personally. Maybe you’re a little more spry, maybe not, but something like the HOTO Wand eliminates the need for all that manual pressure. You just pop on one of the heads, turn it on, and let it spin, brush, and clean.

Why buy, guy?

Because it’s so versatile, you can use it for any similar task, in any room or space, and that will also save you a lot of added time. For example, every week I scrub the tile in my pool, wrapped around the top edges. If I don’t, it will get mildewy and gross. But it’s a lot of work, it takes time out of my weekend, and time I could spend enjoying the space. Now, I just use the HOTO Wand and it’s cleaner than ever. Most importantly, it’s faster, works better, and I’m a lot less sore. I’ll take it.

With products, sometimes you’re paying for convenience or to save time, sometimes you’re paying for efficacy or accuracy, and other times you’re paying for style or function. Here, with the HOTO Wand, you’re paying for all the above. You’re paying so you can use less elbow grease and get back to doing whatever the hell it is you’d rather be doing.

• Recommended Buy: Yes. Save the elbow grease for the boomers.
• For Who: Anyone who wants to scrub-clean better and faster.
• Alternative: HOTO Electric Spin Scrubber
• MSRP: $60