Brush Cleaning and Maintenance

[Drummer]

I have noticed what appears to be a ‘film’ (for lack of a better word) developing on my Vulfix best badger after having used Taylor’s Avocado for the past several weeks. This film seems to reduce the water-holding capacity of the brush, as if the individual bristles are becoming water resistant. I decided to take a chance and use a product I’d used for the past several years to keep my razor(s) nice and shiny. The product is a ‘soap scum’ remover that can be found in grocery stores, and is marketed by at least three different cleaning product companies. The product comes in a 32 ounce spray bottle, and is intended for bathroom cleaning use. I've read on earlier posts that some use a solution of borax to clean their brushes. I haven’t tried that method, but can attest that the soap scum remover worked well on my brush, with no apparent damage. I spritzed the brush head and handle thoroughly, let sit for about 20 seconds, then rinsed thoroughly, allowing the brush to soak in clear water for about a minute to ensure removal of all the soap scum remover. The water-holding capacity of my brush was improved dramatically. The particular brand I have on hand at the moment is ‘Scrubbing Bubbles’ by the Johnson Wax Co., but as I said, other companies market similar products. Anyone else have experience with this stuff?

[SmokingJoe]

That would be great if Scrubbing Bubbles would improve the water holding capacity of my surrey boar brush, but I doubt it. Wishfull thinking though.

[Robert G.]

I noticed that classicshaving.com now carries a brush cleaning powder. It's listed on the Vulfix brush page. I haven't yet tried it, but wonder if this is a good product. Anyone tried this?

[Drummer]

I'm going to try the borax at some point just to see how well it works. I stumbled on the soap scum remover while looking for something around the house that would clean my razor better than dish detergent and a tooth brush. My wife happened to have a bottle under the bathroom sink, so I tried it, and it was effortless – this stuff dissolves soap build-up on most any non-porous surface almost instantly. It seemed to work just as well with my brush – just thought I’d mention it… BTW – if the hair starts falling out of my brush, I’ll mention that too

[northadams]

Chris, I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but I hope to God your Grandmother did not kick you all the way to Nova Scotia. I am beginning to have dreams about that image.

Max

[Robert G.]

At a laundry forum I used to frequent (don't ask ) some of the ladies and gents used a compound called STPP...Sodium Tri Poly Phosphate, or some such, to soften hard water and suspend minerals such as calcium and magnesium in water to avoid the dreaded "soap scum" and to get the whites really white. I wonder if there is any of that in Ray's powder?

[honkdonker]

IWC-Lover: I don't suspect his stuff contains STPP. It is EXTREMELY hard to obtain, due to the fact that phosphates are so heavily regulated due to excess plant growth in water, etc. One can obtain it from certain suppliers, but the process is quite labourious, and one can only usually buy the product in large quanitites.

Sadly, phosphates are not in any of our common washing products, which is a shame as they did a far better job than anything currently available. The actual science has proven that the amount of phosphates in laundry detergent caused minimal extra plant growth; the fertilizer industry actually causes most of the damage. It seems the laundry card was an easier polticial play however.

Thanks.

[Sam]

chris: feel free to post others though

sam