Steel wool is a material made from thin steel filaments that are either matted together or woven into a pad. Consumers are often familiar with steel wool in the form of a dish scouring pad; it is also used by woodworkers as a replacement for sandpaper, and it has a number of other uses as well. Many hardware stores and markets sell steel wool, and sometimes multiple grades are available for different tasks, ranging from coarse to fine.

This product was originally developed in the 19th century, and it was originally produced from a waste product known as swarf. Swarf appears when metal is turned on a lathe; metalworkers noted that the fine fibers of the swarf appeared to have interesting properties, not least of which was their ability to behave almost like a textile. They presumably started using steel wool at home, and other people picked up the habit, creating a demand for commercially produced steel wool.