Getting rid of sand is always a problem…at the beach. Pat Yananton, president of Market Quest Innovations says he has the answer—a three-dimensional nonwoven web that can entrap various sands, essentially pulling the particles into a nonwoven material. This patented technology combines a polyethylene backing and a highloft nonwoven, which works as a spacer material.

These wipes, being marketed under the Sandsweeper brand name, come in a 5x7-inch pad that is folded over to cover the hand. While it is a disposable product, it can be used up to 30-40 times effectively. After each use, the user simply has to shake the sand out of the wipe.

“It’s powder free but it removes sand as well as baby powder,” Yananton says. “People use it to clean their beach chairs, their shoes and themselves before they get into the car.”

A long-time entrepreneur in the nonwovens and related industries, Yananton first discovered the potential for Sandsweepers many years ago when he was marketing a product called Fresh Felines in the pet market. He came up with an idea for a diabetic control pad that allowed cat owners to analyze their cats’ urine.

“We noticed that the pad was also a perfect trap for cat litter and if we used it in the opposite way, it would pick up sand and that’s why we decided to make it a sand wipe.”

Yananton is getting ready to launch a litter entrapment pad under the brand name Cleanpaws. Because of nonwovens technology, this product is less bulky and lighter than competing products, creating the possibility for supermarket sales.

Meanwhile, Sandsweeper wipes are available in Bed Bath & Beyond and some other retail stores, but Yananton hopes to soon strike a licensing deal for the product.

“We are working on direct sales to stores but we are also looking to license the product to perhaps a large nonwovens company that is interested in expanding into direct-to-market sales,” says Yananton. “I’d love to find the company that would like to take over supplying the highloft products.”

Before his venture with Sandsweepers, Yananton spent about 10 years developing highloft nonwoven-based products for other fortune 500 companies as a consultant and patenting those products for licensing. “The products were all bonded highloft nonwovens ranging from toilet wands with active cleansing and disinfecting ingredients to refrigerator shelf liners,” he says.

Next up, he will expand Sandscrubber into mat form for people to use to contain sand in their homes. Currently test marketing is under way for a mat product in some coastal areas.