Editing Luffa (section)

===Fibers===
[[File:Loofah.jpg|thumb|A bathroom loofa sponge]]
The fruit section of ''L. aegyptiaca'' may be allowed to mature and used as a bath or kitchen [[sponge (material)|sponge]] after being processed to remove everything except the network of [[xylem]] fibers. If the loofah is allowed to fully ripen and then dried on the vine, the flesh disappears, leaving only the fibrous skeleton and seeds, which can be easily shaken out. Marketed as ''luffa'' or ''loofah'', the sponge is used as a body scrub in the shower.

In Paraguay, panels are made out of luffa combined with other vegetable matter and recycled plastic. These can be used to create furniture and construct houses.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121016194813/http://www.rolexawards.com/profiles/laureates/elsa_zaldvar/project Recyclable Homes]; 2008 Rolex Awards for Enterprise. Archived 2012-10-16 at the [[Wayback Machine]].</ref>