Best way to dry a brush?

J

jhclare

Messages
517
Hi all,

I've been wondering this for a while - how do you dry your brushes?

I normally rinse well in warm and then cold water, then vigourously shake until no water can be heard flicking out in the sink. I generally don't wipe on a towel, and leaving standing upright out in the open. The brushes are usually dry within 24 hours, maybe even less.

I've often wondered about buying a stand. I understand that these prolong the life of the brush, presumably to prevent shedding (I have had shedding with my Rooney 3/1 and also my new Chubby 2 (although I've only had it a day!).

I'm concerned that I'm not drying them properly, and that maybe I should use a stand.

However, it seems counter-intuitive to me. Surely you want the water to evaporate up, out of the brush? If it is hanging upside down, how does the water evaporate? Then again, it makes sense that excess water would initially drip out of the brush if hanging upside down, but I shake most of the water out before leaving to dry.

So... I'm confused! Any suggestions?

Regards,

John
 
Hi John, I'm probably not the best person to reply to this, as although I shake excess water from the brush I just leave it standing upright in my bathroom cabinet. As far as evaporation goes, I don't think it matters which way the brush is positioned as in this situation I doubt that this would affect the rate of evaporation. If anything it would be slightly better turned upside down as gravity would very slowly draw water downwards from deep in the knot, but very gradually. My EJ Super sheds hairs, so perhaps I am at fault here, but I just like keeping my tackle out of sight (oo er!) so will continue to do so.
 
That's more or less exactly what I do - apart from placement of brush (mine is on top of the cabinet - because there's more air for the humidity to escape into than inside the cabinet). Only a very occasional shed here.

I doubt there's much in the bristles up or bristles down thing - so long as it's well-shaken out and maybe painted a couple of strokes on a towel.
 
The way suggested by the great Charles at QED to me was to use the brush like a paint brush on a dry towel. Just a few gentle up and down strokes and that is enough. He believes it makes no difference if it is dried standing up or hanging down, I have to say that I agree with him but I prefer to hang it for one day then stand it up.
 
I normally rinse mine out, gently squeeze and shake then paint it on a dry towel. I've been told that drying up or down makes no difference despite what the manufacturers of shaving brush stands tell you.
I store the brush outside of the bathroom and allow plenty of dry air circulation.

Pete
 
I used to be a painter and decorator in another life, and I do the same with my shaving brush as I did with my paint brushes - wipe them and hang upside down. Keeps the moisture away from the core. I'm not concerned about bristle-shedding, I just don't like the idea of encouraging a damp micro-environment where bacteria can thrive. Every now and then I use the brush on an alum block for the smae reason - alum kills bacteria.
 
Neil Miller said:
I used to be a painter and decorator in another life, and I do the same with my shaving brush as I did with my paint brushes - wipe them and hang upside down. Keeps the moisture away from the core. I'm not concerned about bristle-shedding, I just don't like the idea of encouraging a damp micro-environment where bacteria can thrive. Every now and then I use the brush on an alum block for the smae reason - alum kills bacteria.
Click to expand...


Now there is a very usfull piece of infomation :shave
 
hunnymonster said:
That's more or less exactly what I do - apart from placement of brush (mine is on top of the cabinet - because there's more air for the humidity to escape into than inside the cabinet). Only a very occasional shed here.

I doubt there's much in the bristles up or bristles down thing - so long as it's well-shaken out and maybe painted a couple of strokes on a towel.
Click to expand...

I leave mine on the top of my cabinet to dry as well.

My logic is the same as yours re the humdity and also because it is next to the window, which allows more air to circulate around the brush.

Interesting comment about using the alum every so often on your brushes and I will be incorportating this into my routine as well.
 
I hang mine it upside-down in a special fairy gazebo at the bottom of the garden, whilst the pixies and fairies spinkle magic dust on it so that it doesn't loose any of it's special powers.

When I can't do that, I rinse it, squeeze it, shake the living f**k out of it over the bath, wipe it on a towel and stand it on a shelf in the bathroom.

Ian
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom