ABOUT US

The inventors of the clean ball and the founders of No Crumbs GmbH Susanne and Bernd Schmekel

On the clean ball development

"At some point, the crumbs in my handbag really annoyed me. And somehow I found it disgusting."

It's been about 5 years since Susanne came up with the idea for her clean ball on the subway.

There should be something that automatically collects crumbs and lint. The first prototype: a golf ball that Susanne wrapped with double-sided tape. The dirt got stuck on it, but unfortunately also the inner lining of the bag. And then he stuck there. Very long. It wasn't until 1 year later that Susanne's friend remembered the idea and they started developing it together.

Domestic production of the first 1,000 inner spheres

You knew: the sticky ball has to be behind a lattice somehow so that it no longer sticks directly. Together with a CAD designer, they designed the perforated outer shell of the clean ball, produced in a 3D printer.

Then it was time for the inner sphere. It should definitely be reusable and recyclable material that is easy to clean. After countless tests, the choice fell on TPR.

They kept asking themselves the question: "But does anyone actually buy the ball?" They wanted to know more about this and packed a few clean balls and went to the nearest Christmas market. Merry Christmas! Suddenly everyone wanted to buy the prototypes right away. So it was clear: they continue. And they do more. More than 1,000 pieces alone were made in the oven at home and packaged at the kitchen table. Susanne remembers: "Mostly pancakes sizzled at the top - and the clean balls at the bottom."