A Brush Can Get Worms...?!

Tardisbasher

Tardisbasher

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313
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London U.K
Just been nosing around Straight Razor Place and found a thread about how your brush can get worms :shock:

How do you know it's got them? Does you're brush start dragging itself around your shelf dragging it's handle? Does it consume more soap than it should but not lather?

Joking aside, there seems to be more than one theory on this from flies laying their eggs in the brush to vinegar eel worms... :eek:

Has anybody had this rather nightmarish sounding problem?

If so, how did you deal with it. Personally, I'd go for hydrocloric acid and an exorcism but that's just me. (Shudder)
 
I also read the same thread over on the Straightrazorplace, I would imagine it's more common than we think, when you look at a brush it does seem the ideal place for a bug to lay a few eggs, I myself would soak in a baby bottle sterolising fluid something like Milton, and then wash in a medicated shampoo, dry brush out, then seal in plastic bag off to the deep freeze for several days, I would imagine though it would be more common in a tropical region of the world, maybe a small drop over the top mossy net would be the answer.

Jamie
 
I thought for a second that we were talking woodworm... my Edwin Jagger is full of deep cracks and I thought something might have been eating the handle, I thought this thread was the answer!

I myself would soak in a baby bottle sterilising fluid something like Milton
Click to expand...

I like this idea, but my baby might not like the taste afterwards, and besides, she might get badger hairs stuck in her mouth at feeding time.
 
Every time I get a fly in my bathroom from now on, I'm going to start chasing it around brandishing a rolled up newspaper and a can of spray screaming "Stay away from my New Forests you b*****d!"

The other half thinks my grip on reality is tenuous at best most of the time so this behaviour won't surprise her at all. :roll:
 
The thought did occur to me the other day that brushes could perhaps be affected by clothes moth larvae. I mean, there's not a huge world of difference between wool (animal hair) and badger bristle (animal hair) or hog bristle (animal hair). I guess carpet beetle or museum beetle larvae might also chomp away on your best silvertip too.

I'd think the best protection would be regular use - eggs and larvae/insects really don't like soapy water (it suffocates them), and if there was an infestation developing, you'd spot it early on, and be able to deal with it.

Probaly the worst scenario would be leaving your brushes unused on a shelf to get dusty - a lot of these grubs prefer feeding on dirty fibres for some reason - and you could get quite a lot of damage to a brush (with them munching away at the bristles), before it became noticable.

I think keeping your brushes in a regular rotation is probably a good idea, and letting them dry for a few days before storing them in their box, in a drawer. I think the Simpson's type boxes are pretty ideal in this regard, with their tight fitting lids, and being made of card, they're breathable so you don't get a build up of damp. If you're really concerned, a few drops of cedar oil on the box might also keep the moths and insects at bay - just don't use too much in case the oil damages the plastic resin of the handle.
 
I tend to run the brush over the alum block after use most days.

Once in a blue moon I do a Borax wash then Vinegar rinse when/if I get round to it or if the soap scum builds up on one.
 
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