The Faster, Cleaner, Smarter Way to Get the Job Done

Welcome to GoEarthstone, an independent resource devoted to one of the quietest success stories in green consumer products: cleaning and sanding blocks made from recycled glass. For two decades these foamed-glass blocks have been scrubbing barbecue grates, brightening pool tile, smoothing rough lumber and lifting baked-on grime - all without harsh chemicals, and all while keeping bottles and jars out of America's landfills.

This site preserves and continues the consumer guides that were originally published on this domain in the early 2000s, when recycled-glass blocks first reached hardware stores nationwide. You will find plain-English explanations of how the material works, practical usage tips for every type of block, and the much-loved backyard grilling library - cooking methods, time-and-temperature charts, marinades and sixteen classic grill recipes.

What Is a Recycled-Glass Cleaning Block?

Picture a block that looks and feels like volcanic pumice, but began life as ordinary glass bottles. Post-consumer glass is ground into a fine powder, mixed with a foaming agent and fired so it expands into a light, porous, abrasive material often called white foamed glass. The result scrubs like stone, conforms to the surface being cleaned, and sharpens itself as it wears - yet contains no detergents, solvents or toxic ingredients of any kind.

Because the blocks are chemical-free, they are safe to use around children, pets, food-contact surfaces and swimming-pool water. And because they are made almost entirely from recycled glass, every block helps reduce demand for strip-mined pumice. Learn more about the material on our foamed glass explainer and the environmental story behind it.

Explore the Guides

• Grill cleaning blocks - the wire-brush alternative that cleans grates four times faster, plus usage tips.
• Pool tile & grout blocks - chemical-free removal of waterline scale, algae and mineral stains.
• Hand sanding blocks and power-sander blocks - sandpaper alternatives that never clog or tear.
• Household cleaning blocks - kitchen, bath and heavy-duty scrubbing without bleach.
• The grilling resource center - methods, times, temperatures, marinades and recipes.

Why It Still Matters

Glass is endlessly recyclable, yet much of it still ends up buried. According to the U.S. EPA's recycling resources, diverting glass from the waste stream saves raw materials and energy with every ton recovered. Foamed-glass blocks were an early, practical demonstration that recycled glass could outperform the virgin materials it replaced - a lesson that feels more relevant now than ever.

Whether you arrived here looking for the best way to clean a grill grate, a refresher on indirect grilling, or the story of how a New Mexico environmental idea reached store shelves across the country, we hope these pages serve you well. Start with the product guide or jump straight to the history.