Thread: Disinfecting / Sanitizing

Sanitizing is largely ceremonial. Antigens can't really live on surfaces for very long. If someone with say Hep C used a razor and cut himself with it then handed it to you and YOU in turn cut yourself with it you could catch it but even rinsing with water will get rid of the virus. If it makes you feel better dip in 70% isopropyl alcohol, shake it off(CAREFULLY) and let it dry on the blade. Probably the best way is to let it sit in the sun for an hour and flip it...at least in Florida. You folk in the Great White North may not get the same effect so make it 2 hours.

Originally Posted by Gasman

The dental floss gets out a lot of gunk. But unless your blade/pin is very loose you wont get the floss to the pin. Soak, spray, floss. Then dry well.

Or take it apart and do it right.

Take it apart!!

Freakin Frog, there’s an new disorder I hadn’t even thought of!

Guess I got a day on utube tomorrow learnin

Don’t blame me-it wasn’t my idea.

Steve

I asked a relative who is a doctor about sanitizing a razor blade. He seemed to think wiping it down with bleach would do. After that I wipe mine down with a Q Tip soaked in bleach, let sit a bit, rinse off and wipe dry. Then the same with hydrogen peroxide and finally isopropyl/rubbing alcohol. It is probably over kill. As PaulFLUS is correct, as far as I know, about antigen survival.

The crap around the pivot area is most likely dried old lather and whiskers plus rust. You may also find that black crap on the inside of the scales too. People just seem to love getting lather all over the razor for some unknow and unnecessary reason. I just soak the scales in Simple Green and scrub the crap out with a tooth brush. It may take several tries.

The only thorough way to clean the pivot area is to unpin the scales and repin when finished. Being lazy I rarely do that.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

The crap around the pivot area is most likely dried old lather and whiskers plus rust.

Bob

Damn... Other ppls whiskers
I hate seeing that..

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Sanitizing is largely ceremonial. Antigens can't really live on surfaces for very long. If someone with say Hep C used a razor and cut himself with it then handed it to you and YOU in turn cut yourself with it you could catch it but even rinsing with water will get rid of the virus.

Wrong! HepC is quite resistant just rinsing is not helping.

See:
https://link.springer.com/article/10...:1005472812403

That I know, the gel hand sanitizer is the only thing that's going to work, besides barbercide.

You want ethyl alcohol not isopropyl alcohol

Originally Posted by JOB15

Damn... Other ppls whiskers
I hate seeing that..

Yep, me too. All but lost my lunch, when I pulled the blade from this set.


This is why ya need to clean them thoroughly, Steve.

Originally Posted by schwabenchris

Wrong! HepC is quite resistant just rinsing is not helping.

See:
https://link.springer.com/article/10...:1005472812403

Well one of my surfing buddies is an epidemiologist. I'm telling you what he told me. I didn't read it but you'll pardon me if I take his word over yours or some article in a magazine.

Edit: in fairness it is not like we are talking about rinsing a razor after someone with Hep C cut themself and handed it to you. It has been possibly years since anyone used that thing. At the very least since it went into the mail. I'm not saying not to sterilize. I'm saying that in reality by the time it gets through the mail to you it is very unlikely to be contagious with anything. I sterilize mine in the way he told me for good measure. I'm don't really intellectually believe that I am going to catch anything from them. It's just nasty. Feeling "it is nasty" is not exactly scientific but it effects how I feel. Still I'll tell you what. I'll pose the question to him in a text and report back his response just for the sake of being thorough and eat crow if I have misspoken.

Originally Posted by BobH

Then the same with hydrogen peroxide

I don't have direct experience, but I would expect hydrogen peroxide to damage the steel as it is a very strong oxidizer, I have always thought the same of chlorine bleach.

Originally Posted by bluesman7

I don't have direct experience, but I would expect hydrogen peroxide to damage the steel as it is a very strong oxidizer, I have always thought the same of chlorine bleach.

You are absolutely correct in what you would expect hydrogen peroxide and chlorine bleach to do to metal. Given enough time they will eat metal. I had said "After that I wipe mine down with a Q Tip soaked in bleach, let sit a bit, rinse off and wipe dry." and should qualify that by saying "a bit" means swab on let sit long enough to swab the whole blade and rinse off. That is my fault for not being very clear on that point. Thanks for bringing that point up.

Bob