Scouring article and methods of making and using

1. A scouring article comprising:

a monolithic nonwoven pad comprising an interior and a first major surface and a second major surface, the monolithic nonwoven pad comprising:

at least some nonwoven fibers that are bonded to each other by fiber-fiber melt-bonding; and,

at least some nonwoven fibers that are bonded to each other by a binder that is distributed throughout the monolithic nonwoven pad in the form of globules;

wherein the monolithic nonwoven pad comprises a first semi-densified fibrous layer that is integral with the monolithic nonwoven pad and that comprises an outward major surface that provides the first major surface of the monolithic nonwoven pad;

and wherein the first major surface of the monolithic nonwoven pad comprises a first array of spaced-apart scouring bodies, at least selected scouring bodies of which first array each comprise an inward portion that penetrates at least partially into the first semi-densified fibrous layer of the monolithic nonwoven pad, and an outward portion that protrudes outward at least 0.2 mm beyond the first major surface of the monolithic nonwoven pad.

2. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein the nonwoven fibers of the pad include first staple fibers that exhibit a first melting point and second staple fibers that include at least one component that exhibits a second melting point that is lower than the first melting point of the first staple fibers, wherein at least selected second staple fibers are melt-bonded to first staple fibers at points of contact between the first and second staple fibers.

3. The scouring article of claim 2 wherein at least some of the nonwoven fibers of the pad are crimped staple fibers.

4. The scouring article of claim 2 wherein at least some of the first staple fibers are polyester fibers.

5. The scouring article of claim 2 wherein at least some of the second staple fibers are chosen from the group consisting of bicomponent binding fibers, monocomponent binding fibers, and blends and mixtures thereof.

6. The scouring article of claim 1 with the proviso that at least substantially all of the nonwoven fibers of the pad are hydrophobic fibers.

7. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein the at least one binder is a thermoset binder that is derived from a thermosettable binder precursor.

8. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein the at least one binder is derived from a binder precursor that is in the form of a water-borne latex.

9. The scouring article of claim 1 with the proviso that the binder is not a water soluble binder.

10. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein the at least one binder includes abrasive particles.

11. The scouring article of claim 1 with the proviso that the at least one binder does not include abrasive particles.

12. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein at least selected scouring bodies are each comprised of an organic polymeric resin.

13. The scouring article of claim 12 wherein the organic polymeric resin is a phenolic resin.

14. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein at least selected scouring bodies each include abrasive particles.

15. The scouring article of claim 1 with the proviso that the scouring bodies do not include abrasive particles.

16. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein, on average, inward portions of the scouring bodies extend inward from the first major surface of the scouring article a distance that is less than about 10% of the overall thickness of the monolithic nonwoven pad.

17. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein at least selected scouring bodies each possess an outward surface that generally follows a topography established by segments of fibers that provide the first major surface of the monolithic nonwoven pad.

18. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein the first semi-densified fibrous layer exhibits a solidity that is at least about 20% greater than a solidity of the interior of the pad.

19. The scouring article of claim 1 further comprising a second semi-densified fibrous layer that is integral with the monolithic nonwoven pad and that comprises an outward major surface that provides the second major surface of the monolithic nonwoven pad, and wherein the second major surface of the monolithic nonwoven pad comprises a second array of spaced-apart scouring bodies, at least selected scouring bodies of which second array each comprise an inward portion that penetrates at least partially into the second semi-densified fibrous layer of the monolithic nonwoven pad, and an outward portion that protrudes outward beyond the second major surface of the monolithic nonwoven pad.

20. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein the overall thickness of the monolithic nonwoven pad is at least about 4 mm.

21. The scouring article of claim 1 wherein the monolithic nonwoven pad is an airlaid pad.

22. The scouring article of claim 1 with the proviso that the monolithic nonwoven pad is not a rebulkable pad or a rebulked pad.

23. A method of scouring a food-contacting surface, comprising manually bringing the first major surface of the scouring article of claim 1 into contact with the food-contacting surface and manually moving the scouring article about the food-contacting surface while maintaining the first major surface of the scouring article in contact with the food-contacting surface.

24. A method of making a scouring article, the method comprising:

providing a monolithic nonwoven pad comprising an interior and a first major surface and a second major surface, the nonwoven pad comprising at least some nonwoven fibers that are bonded to each other by fiber-fiber melt-bonding;

forming at least a first semi-densified fibrous layer that is integral with the monolithic nonwoven pad and that comprises an outward major surface that provides the first major surface of the monolithic nonwoven pad;

impregnating at least one binder precursor throughout the monolithic nonwoven pad,

solidifying the binder precursor into binder globules that are distributed throughout the monolithic nonwoven pad, at least some of which binder globules bind at least some of the fibers of the monolithic nonwoven pad to other fibers of the monolithic nonwoven pad;

forming, on the first major surface of the nonwoven pad, a first array of spaced-apart scouring bodies, at least selected scouring bodies of which first array each comprise an inward portion that penetrates at least partially into the first semi-densified layer of the nonwoven pad, and an outward portion that protrudes outward beyond the first major surface of the nonwoven pad.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the forming of the first semi-densified layer is performed before the impregnating of the binder precursor throughout the monolithic nonwoven pad.