brush and razor cleaning

[SpydieNut]

about 2 months in and loving it. :hungrig

but i'm getting a scale on my razor and was thinking of cleaning it with an old toothbrush, but not sure what else to use - hand soap, shampoo, vinegar in warm water......

also do i need to clean my brush from time to time (i read something about barbasol, but can't find it in the UK) and, if so, would regular shampoo do the trick?

many thanks and happy shaving

 

[henkverhaar]

The scale is soap scum, calcium and magnesium salts of the fatty acids in your soap (soap consists of sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids, which are water-soluble; calcium and magnesium, from hard water, displace the sodium and potassium, and are insoluble, so the precipitate on your brush. And in you sink...)

Before the time of syndets (shampoos and shower liquids), when people would use ordinary soap while taking a bath, baths would have a soap scum line that needed to be cleaned away every couple of weeks.

Acid will effectively dissolve soap scum. Just clean it with cleaning vinegar.

 

[SpydieNut]

many thanks Henk - i'll get some vinegar then.

is it OK to use on the brush as well? also, do you use it neat, or dilute it in water?

thanks again

 

[henkverhaar]

SHould be OK on a brush, just dissolve the scum and rinse well -- until you cannot smell it anymore ;-)

 

[SpydieNut]

thanks again Henk.