Thread: Sterilizing "New to Me" razors

Originally Posted by fccexpert

Barbecide as well as clippercide spray contain alcohol and this will attack celluloid scales. Bleach solutions, even at a 10:1 dilution will attack metal. Both require at least 10 minutes to fully disenfect.

Are you sure about that. My bottle does not list alcohol. I have only done about 7 straights but had no problem, maybe just been lucky.

I know it for a fact that alcohol will attack the celluloid. It starts giving off a funky smell after being cleaned with/immerged in C2H5OH

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

I know it for a fact that alcohol will attack the celluloid. It starts giving off a funky smell after being cleaned with/immerged in C2H5OH

Never tried alcohol but i use Barbicide with no ill affects that also leads me to believe it does not contain alcohol

I use a transparant desinfectant that we also use for our daughter.
I rub it in for a minute or so and that's it.

So far I have never shaved with a razor that hasn't spent an hour or more on the stone, so I doubt that anything survives that anyway.

Would there be any reasons to use or not use iodine?

Originally Posted by Sunsi

Would there be any reasons to use or not use iodine?

If it touches the scales they could be ruined.
Even plastic absorbs enough that it could be visible for ever.

My wife once dropped a small bottle of iodine on the bathroom floor.
There were spatters everywhere, and they were there to stay.
Luckily the bathroom is one of the unfinished parts of the house, so no lasting damage is done.

Barbercide was designed for dipping sheers and razors by barbers I would have thought it was safe for the most common scales out there... I don;t remember seeing Alcohol in the ingredient list of my Marvicide either. I'll have to check

Originally Posted by Taz

Are you sure about that. My bottle does not list alcohol. I have only done about 7 straights but had no problem, maybe just been lucky.

Well, the MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet) available on King Research's web site all list Isopropyl alcohol as an ingredient. Admittedly, after mixing the barbecide or barbecide plus concentrate with water the concentration in the mix will be low. Clipercide is about 45% Isopropyl alcohol and since it is used straight from the can, probably has the worst risk.

As far as I know, the risk is only to celluloid handles. Other materials, such as bakelite, bone, ivory, wood and other plastics are probably safe, but I will stand corrected if someone else knows more.

I use rubbing alcohol before the first shave and after every every shave. That's it. I don't think that's underestimating the power of the virus. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

If you want to be sure you can take this advise. I don't know who gave it first, but I quote it here for you:

"Having worked in the medical field for 20 years, 7 of which was in Microbiology, I'm going to get in my 2 cents.

The only way to sterilize something is with an autoclave as was mentioned earlier. This would turn scales into a pile of worthless melted goo. You need high temperature and pressure to kill any spores that might be present.

A 10% solution of bleach and water is all that is required to kill 99% of all bacteria and viruses out there. The only thing it can't get is the spores that require the heat and pressure that was mentioned above. 10% bleach is approved by all agencys that monitor our medical labs and we are required to clean our work benches after every shift with it. Using a stronger solution isn't any more effective because the spores can survive even straight bleach.

Bleach is not a good solution to use on metal though and over a period of time you will start to see pitting on the surface. We have stainless steel counters in our lab and at first glance they look pretty good but on closer inspection, you can see the damage that the bleach has slowly done.

Boiling water is very effective in killing organisms as is lysol, listerine, and any good anti-bacterial hand soap. Boiling a kettle of water and pouring it over the razor blade does a great job and I have done it many times. I just keep it off the scales because I'm not sure how the heat would affect them.

I have no idea what is in the barbercide but I doubt that it will kill any harmful spores. They resist everything short of autoclaving. Having said that, spores are generally airborne and the chances of having any on a blade is pretty slim. If you were to receive a razor that had lots of spores on it, you would have already been exposed to them by just opening up the box and moving the razor through the air.

The HIV virus is a very fragile virus and cannot be exposed to air for more then a couple of minutes before it dies. You would have to take a razor from an infected person and use it within minutes to have even a small chance of contracting it.
The Hepatitis virus is a little heartier and could hang around on a used blade for awhile. Hepatitis is alot easier to contract then HIV. Hepatitis was the main concern with Barbers and is why they had to go with disposable blades. It is the main hazard in my field also, I have been stuck with 4 dirty needles over the past 20 years and fortunately I haven't contracted anything.

Bottom line, your skin is a pretty good barrier against organisms. If you clean your blade with a good disinfectant or use boiling water, your chances of getting anything is slim. I would bet a good soak in a glass of original listerine would kill the same amount of bacteria that the Barbacides do"

A quick search for 'autoclave' also reveals this.

X