Thread: Disinfecting a secondhand razor

Just the blade. Especially if your scales are not plastic.

Originally Posted by cwrighta70

...what is the oil useful for? Thanks!

To prevent rust overall and keep the pivot smooth, especially useful in humid climates. Mineral and Camellia (tea seed) oil are pretty popular.

Originally Posted by KingHarvest

Bleach will kill everything. Just make sure to clean it afterwards.

Why do I not believe that bleach is the solution.. maybe it's because people don't use bleach for everything, even though bleach is available and cheap.

Clean and dry is the key.

I would never use an acid or bleach on a razor I treasure. Too much risk that the stuff will stay behind somewhere and ruin it, especially at the pivot.

There is only one sure way to completely sterilize a razor: remove the scales. Then you can sterilize the blade with heat/pressure or UV or by cleaning it completely and allowing it to dry.

You can soak the scales separately in Barbasol, and scrub them very clean and allow them to dry also.
Then, a session under UV light (outside in bright sunlight or in a toothbrush santizer) will make the scales safe.

But, if you don't take the razor apart, it is not possible to be assured that no germs remain behind in the pivot and around the pins.

If you can't take the razor apart, you must attempt to get as much dirt out of the pivot area as possible. I do this by inundating it with antibacterial dishwashing liquid and opening and closing the razor scores of times, and then rinsing while opening and closing the razor. This gets out a lot of dirt and corrosion.

I then rinse the blade under full hot tapwater for 20 seconds and then dry it thoroughly and set it aside to completely dry.

Then I repeat the same thing with sewing machine oil, opening and closing the razor and blotting out the excess oil with a paper towel.

I personally believe that after a treatment or two like this, the razor is clean and safe.

For antique razors I sell, I have been known to take them apart and re-pin them so that I can make sure they are completely clean.

Paul

I've been using a Dettol Disinfactant Spray that claims to Kill 99% of bacteria &viruses.You just spray it on the blade & allow it to dry .I usually follow up by Rinsing the blade under a very Hot tap ,Then follow with drying the blade with tissue until its completely dry .This seems to be Ok.
This is the same kind of disinfectant that is used in Hospitals.
Hope this is of help .Paul

While I am always careful, I would guess that honing would physically remove most of the metal any nasties are hanging out on.

If they manage to survive that, the ammonia in MAAS should knock them out.

If they can make it past that and a final wash and rinse with regular dish soap, then we're all screwed! :P

I have discussed this with 3 doctors and this is what I was told. Germs don't live on surfaces very long, but some have a longer life span than others. Most germs are killed with just soap and water or sanitizers of some kind. Aids is a weak virus and dies quickly, like within a day. So the only real threat is hepatitis which can live on surfaces where there has been blood contamination for a longer period of time, like a week or 10 days. They all told me that the best protection was to give things time to die. On old razors that no one has used in years and you are sure that no one has cut themselves with, no problems. 0n razors that have been restored and test shaved with, or sent out for sharpening there is more risk. Ask yourself, would you feel comfortable using a tattoo gun that had been used on someone you did not know and then wiped down with alcohol? I am not trying to alarm anyone as this is not a topic that should cause alarm. It is a topic where good information and common sense will make it a no brainer. The routine that I came up with, with the help of my doctors is that I soak my blades down with chlorhexidine( this is a solution used by physicians to sterilize their cold pack surgical instruments) for 20 min., then wipe them down with Clippersol to make sure they don't rust, and then I give them a rest for a couple of weeks before I add them to my rotation. A lot of you guys will probably consider this overkill & maybe it is but I sleep well at night & have enough razors that I can wait 2 weeks for a little piece of mind. Take this for what it's worth it's just the best information I could come up with. My suggestion to everyone is that you get information from your doctor on your next visit, so you can make an informed decision.
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Since long and thorough answers have already been given I'll go with my first impulse and say:

Spittle and a sleeve is what you need!

Is it me or does it seem that a lot of the responces here seem to border on OCD?

Originally Posted by Doc

I have discussed this with 3 doctors and this is what I was told. Germs don't live on surfaces very long, but some have a longer life span than others. Most germs are killed with just soap and water or sanitizers of some kind. Aids is a weak virus and dies quickly, like within a day. So the only real threat is hepatitis which can live on surfaces where there has been blood contamination for a longer period of time, like a week or 10 days. They all told me that the best protection was to give things time to die. On old razors that no one has used in years and you are sure that no one has cut themselves with, no problems. 0n razors that have been restored and test shaved with, or sent out for sharpening there is more risk. Ask yourself, would you feel comfortable using a tattoo gun that had been used on someone you did not know and then wiped down with alcohol? I am not trying to alarm anyone as this is not a topic that should cause alarm. It is a topic where good information and common sense will make it a no brainer. The routine that I came up with, with the help of my doctors is that I soak my blades down with chlorhexidine( this is a solution used by physicians to sterilize their cold pack surgical instruments) for 20 min., then wipe them down with Clippersol to make sure they don't rust, and then I give them a rest for a couple of weeks before I add them to my rotation. A lot of you guys will probably consider this overkill & maybe it is but I sleep well at night & have enough razors that I can wait 2 weeks for a little piece of mind. Take this for what it's worth it's just the best information I could come up with. My suggestion to everyone is that you get information from your doctor on your next visit, so you can make an informed decision.
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My brother is a doctor and he made the same point about letting it sit for a while.