Thread: Productive brush neglect

Howdy folks,

For the last few months I've skipped rinsing and drying my brush after shaving. Before that, I'd always assiduously rinsed it and dried it under a blowdryer, and would have hard-water crud build up so much that I'd have to give it a vinegar soak every couple of weeks.

The brush is a Muhle travel brush; the knot unscrews and stores in the handle, with pretty good ventilation. But then it lives in my dopp bag, which is zipped closed except when I'm at the gym showering and shaving. Relative humidity where I live is about 20% at the high end; often in the lower teens.

Anyway, I now just wring out the lather with my fingers then give it a squeeze inside a towel, and haven't had to bother with a vinegar rinse since giving up on the full rinse-and-dry sequence. Used hard, put away wet, and apparently thriving. I mostly use MWF, but rotate in the occasional cream or other soap.

Probably not the approach for everyone, but it's working for me here in the high desert Just thought I'd share in case other hard-water victims want to give it a try.

Best wishes to all

I rinse mine and store back on the stand; my hard water has never given me a fuss. I also dip mine in barbacide about every other month, let stand for 10 minutes, and rinse well and back to the stands. Worked so far for all my brushes.

Rinse under hot water to rinse, squeeze the bulb once and put it upside down on the stand....

I posted the same a couple weeks ago,pushing a year,no rinse no hang,going on a yr,no problems.

I knew a guy back in the '60s, hippie days, was like that with showers. He didn't have any close friends ......

I rinse mine, shake out the excess water, and hang bristle down for 24 hours or so before standing it back up in the brush area.

Whatever works is fine though.

We've got soft water here and I don't recall ever washing a brush except when new to get gunk and skunk out. Just rinse under cold water, gentle squeeze of the knot, a few shakes and hang upside down to dry or not. Touch wood, never a problem. Like Jimmy said, whatever works.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

We've got soft water here and I don't recall ever washing a brush except when new to get gunk and skunk out. Just rinse under cold water, gentle squeeze of the knot, a few shakes and hang upside down to dry or not. Touch wood, never a problem. Like Jimmy said, whatever works.

Bob

yea but you have so much junk in that lake water the hard minerals were converted to some alien life form years ago.

I try and take proper care of all my tools. I make sure my brushes are well rinsed after use and allowed to dry.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I try and take proper care of all my tools. I make sure my brushes are well rinsed after use and allowed to dry.

Exactly what I said I do.

Bob

Glad to hear it works for you. A word of CAUTION though: be careful how wet you let it stay for long periods of time - mold/mildew could form at the core of the knot creating a potential health hazard (even with the continual presence of soap) and much higher likelihood the knot hairs will weaken, 'break down', and rot.

A few weeks ago on another forum, a guy posted a pic of his brush say he was disappointed it wore out in just over a year. He used the brush twice a day, every day. In the pic, the center of the thin, splayed, lifeless knot looked like a dark-yellowish brown pile of semi-mush. With all that constant use it never had a chance to dry out and just rotted into messy pile of pulp...

Originally Posted by Malacoda

Glad to hear it works for you. A word of CAUTION though: be careful how wet you let it stay for long periods of time - mold/mildew could form at the core of the knot creating a potential health hazard (even with the continual presence of soap) and much higher likelihood the knot hairs will weaken, 'break down', and rot.

A few weeks ago on another forum, a guy posted a pic of his brush say he was disappointed it wore out in just over a year. He used the brush twice a day, every day. In the pic, the center of the thin, splayed, lifeless knot looked like a dark-yellowish brown pile of semi-mush. With all that constant use it never had a chance to dry out and just rotted into messy pile of pulp...

Wow - great description, I think I just threw up a little....yes, rinse and hang to dry....