Excellent observations, Blank. Many thanks for this. However, we did try this not only with the aforementioned hamster, but also with a plebeian brush prior to employing the method with a good brush. To wit, I let a TGN type knot sit in a generic US cleaner for several hours while watching a tv report on creationism. It was very entertaining. The report, not constantly switching on the cleaner, mind you.

The cleaner, it should be noted, came in a beautiful bright pink often found in costume brush handles. This may or may not have had an impact on the experiment.