Cleaning/Sterilizing an EBay razor

[Gatorade]

How would you clean the black-handled Gillette adjustable, with the rubberized handle?

Well if I had one that needed to be cleaned, I would clean it with scrubbing bubbles. Then do an alcohol dip and a germicide dip. You don't need to soak them in the solution, just dip and allow to air dry or rinse. I would say you will be pretty safe with that.

 

[icecow]

Originally Posted by Magruder
How would you clean the black-handled Gillette adjustable, with the rubberized handle?

............

Oh, according to an old entry by shaveblog.com guy, boiling water will deform the black plastic handle of those razors so be carefull.

Maybe get the water boiling then spike it with some cold water. Wouldn't try using the boiling water to sterilize it, just to losen up the inside buildup.

proceed with your judgement

 

[Magruder]

Oh, according to an old entry by shaveblog.com guy, boiling water will deform the black plastic handle of those razors so be carefull.

Sounds reasonable. I had soaked it in a mixture of *warm*, not hot, water and vinegar for awhile -- vinegar is a great cleanser -- and then scrubbed with a toothbrush. It´s pretty clean now.

I´m leary of boiling any of my razors. Any damage could be mighty hard to undo.

 

[Paul10]

I´m leary of boiling any of my razors. Any damage could be mighty hard to undo.

I just got a Gillette SS from eBay which stated in the desc that it was disenfected and cleaned. I got it and it looks mint. I dont feel like boiling it either..would just soaking it in Alcohol and a soapy scrub be enough?

Thanks

 

[Gatorade]

I just got a Gillette SS from eBay which stated in the desc that it was disenfected and cleaned. I got it and it looks mint. I dont feel like boiling it either..would just soaking it in Alcohol and a soapy scrub be enough?

Thanks

I would be fine with that. Soap scum remover usually has a little bleach in it so you are getting a good disinfection with both.

 

[rickw]

Hi guys,
In your conversations about bleach concentrations you should start with the percentage of calcium or sodium hypochlorate in the container. Pool bleach is usually about 10% and household laundry bleach runs about 6%. The pool stuff is strong enough to turn black levis white with one drop splashing back out of the pool. Bleach is also what is used to clean dialysis machines.


Rick

 

[astrilt1]

I'm a paranoid person, so I had my father run it an autoclave at his dental practice. He seemed to think boiling it would accomplish the sterilization I desired. To remove built up gunk and rust, I've had surprising success with a dremel and a vinyl brush bit. After that, I tried to polish it using the dremel and it's polishing bits, but didn't get that brand new look. I'm going to try the foil with baking soda and salt trick mentioned above. If that doesn't do it, I'll try the brasso.

-Andriy

 

[scruffyv]

OK, so I get it in terms of cleaning options, but what about polishing options. I am a little fanatical about cleaning my car. I have Mother's metal polish for mag wheels in my garage. Supposedly it will not hurt any metal finish. I use it on my titanium bicycle as well as the wheels on my car. It is amazing stuff. Think it is OK to use on my razor, or are there other alternatives?

Thanks,

Vin

 

[Gatorade]

I have not used the Dremel because mine only has one speed, fast. Also I have heard that it can damage the finish of some of the razors that don't have very good plating, like gold. I have heard of others that have used buffing wheels with good results.

Go on ebay and win a beater of a razor and try the methods out. Please post results as we are always looking for ways to make them shine and stay minty!

 

[_JP_]

Wow, a lot of ideas here on cleaning our tools!

Somebody mentioned using a deep fry with oil. Don't. Oil will get inside places you can see, sit there, and eventually gum up the works. It might steralize , but then you'll have to clean the oil off. Doesn't matter what type of oil.

Bleach. At strenghts suggested for sanitation purposes it is safe to use on anything that would be in touch with food, and that goes the same for your shaving gear as well. Bleach in strong concentrations or by itself can cause stainless steel and some other metals to corrode (it looks like rust). When you do use it, don't soak for long periods of time and be damm sure to rinse the item thoroughly with water. As a suggestion of bleach to water ratio for sanitation purposes, what is recommended for RV plumbing is 6 ounces of bleach per 10 gallons of water. That's way less than 10% strength.

Because of another thread, I've tried an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner. Plain water with a drop of dish detergent in the tub. Worked well on several old multible blade razor handles, some of which are plastic. They now are free.

 

[RazrBurn]

Though I first learned to shave with a Shick bakelite handle injector razor (yikes.. that was 40 years ago!) I eventually devolved into a twin-blade user until earlier this year. After some serious lurking on these forums, I eventually purchased two Gilette adjustable DE razors on eBay and have been a happy wet shaver for several months. Along with three additional Gilettes acquired from my father-in-law, all of my razors were initially sterilized and cleaned using various procedures and materials detailed in these forums. Good advice, and thanks to all.

However, I recently discovered that one of the commercial bathroom "soap scum removers'" effortlessly removes soap scum and rust stains (transferred from blades in use). I know... others have suggested products of this sort (usually mentioning "Soft Scrub" or "Scrubbing Bubbles" brands). However, the specific product that I am now using is "Tilex Soap Scum Remover" (a description of the product can be seen at www.tilex.com) and it cleans so effortlessly that I felt obligated to suggest it for routine razor cleaning.

I have no idea whether Tilex works any better than competing products for razor cleaning (this just happened to be in my wife's arsenal of cleaning supplies) but it certainly is marvelous for this purpose. Little if any scrubbing is necessary, and no abrasives are involved so it should be safe to use on any razor. It really made my gold Gilette Tech shine like a jewel. I have been using Tilex on my razors after 2-3 weeks of daily shaving, and the inevitable buildup of soap scum is instantly replaced with a gratifying shine. Wish I had known about Tilex when I gave my razors their inaugural post-acquisition de-crudding! This product is readily available in the USA.

 

[Tanizaki]

You should never ever use bleach to clean anything steel, any homebrewer knows this!

Star-San is a steel safe sanitizer however which is commonly used in the brewing industry and kills all sorts of nasties, I believe it can be purchased from any homebrew store or from http://www.homebrewadventures.com/shopping/index.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=homebrew&Product_Code=STAR-08

you mix it with water so for cleaning razors that should last a LONG time.

I wish I'd read this far in the thread before deciding there were a consensus on the 10% bleach solution in a number of other threads. Tonight I had the pleasure of corroding the handle of the formerly pristine 1951 Super Speed that arrived from eBay today.

You bleach recommenders are top notch!

 

[_JP_]

I wish I'd read this far in the thread before deciding there were a consensus on the 10% bleach solution in a number of other threads. Tonight I had the pleasure of corroding the handle of the formerly pristine 1951 Super Speed that arrived from eBay today.

Bummer!

Hopefully others will see this and gain from your experience.

 

[rhinoyahoo]

Two new acquistions...Gillette Adjustables. One is black-handled with a date code of O2 and another long, black handled, plastic base on bottom of head with E3, viewable inside w/ silo doors open.

I read through this thread, while cleaning them...Good & Bad News! Good News...the razors are nice, shiney, and clean and the soap scum is gone. Bad News...the letters on my keyboard are gone, too!!

Peace,
Jim

PS: Not really...keyboard's fine...just a funny throught. Safe Computing, Everyone!

 

[gman]

in terms of sanitizing, i boiled in water for about 20 minutes than scrubed a bit nothing too major as there wasnt much to clean and then boiled for another two minutes again. Do you think that was enough? I didnt use any bleach or anything, but just wanted to make sure all the virus/bacteria are out.

I would say boiling it would be pretty safe.

 

[TENroaches]

Hmmm. Moses sent me a razor (thanks again!) and I got it today. It was cleaner than I was expecting, but not as shiny as many of the ones I've seen. I can see some gunk up under the head. This thread is tempting me to try to get it sparkling. It's also a little scary. I guess I'll try.... Let's see. I've read bleach, I've read don't do bleach, I've read boil it, I've read don't boil it, I've read vinegar, I've read don't use the vinegar.... Oh heavens. I'll figure something out.

 

[Christoph]

I would imagine that any or all of the above mentioned sterilization techniques work quite well. I think that there is often a temdency to engage in massive overkill here. But then, one naturally wants to completely clean something that has (perhaps for many years) been used in another persons home and on other people's faces.

A while back I got a 60s Gillette Adjustable. I boiled it in water for about 20-30 minutes. I soaked it in rubbing alcohol, then soaked it it a mild bleach solution. I think I also used a soft brush and Scrubbing Bubbles. After this, the razor looked great, showed no signs of any harm due to the sterilization, and worked perfectly.

 

[vuelamanuel]

I was just at an OSHA training. Lads (& lassies), I assure you, there are some nasty blood germs out there...Hep B lives for up to 3 weeks, TB only gets tickled by Alcohol. None of those 2 are really curable & either can kill you...slowly but surely if not managed. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/images/smilies/various2/a51.gif

According to OSHA, the 2 best ways of sanitizing (without autoclaving your butterscoth bakelite handles to real Taffie) is to use Citrace Solution for 10 minutes or 10% Chlorine Solution...I feel that the chlorine will probably damage/induce corrosion so I am sticking with the Citrace. Lysol was also a good germicide but for some reason it did not got mentioned...

Hot water is not enough, vinegar is for dressing and better drinks...think about it, if you can consume any of those, why would a tough bug fear any of them...http://badgerandblade.com/vb/images/smilies/various2/a54.gif

Hope this helps some!!!

P.D. Target's "Method" cleaner works well for the soap scum, it's probably similar to the "scrubbing bubbles"...it didn't damage Chrome Gillettes, GEM or a bakelite Injector...any experiences with it?

 

[Rufus]

I'm confused now and this is an important issue for me. I am meticulous in disinfecting any used razor I purchase, as I have a close friend who contacted one of these blood-borne diseases (not from shaving) and now has a new liver. I've been following the guidelines established by the public health officials in Canada regarding the proper disinfecting of razors, scissors, tweezers, etc (e.g. ref. www.wdghu.org). They don't require that such instruments be sterilized, as they are classified as semi-critical, but do require that they be disinfected ( which is the the step between cleaning and sterilization) with an intermediate to high-level disinfectant. In this regard they recommend complete immersion of the instrument for 10 minutes in a solution of 70% to 90% ethyl or isopropyl alcohol, or a solution of 1:100 to 1:10 dilution of bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite) to water, for example. As the bleach solution could be corrosive to metals I've opted to use 99% isopropyl alcohol. From what vulemanuel says it appears that OSHA does not think that alcohol is adequate. As I am a complete layman on these matters, could any of our members who are public health professionals qualified in such matters provide further guidance or direct us to a definitive source? I know that may members use Barbicide to disinfect razors, but according to the source I have cited this is not acceptable for such instruments. Finally, may of the postings I see on ebay advertising razors for sale say that they are "sterilized"; I wonder if they really are: have they been autoclaved or treated with a chemical sterilizer, e.g. Cidex?

 

[polod]

Guys, guys, guys....all you have to do is spray Scrubbing Bubbles, scrub the razor a few times with tooth brush, soak in a diluted solution of Lysol/Mr. Clean, (you know, the concentrated yellow cleaner) maybe 1 part Lysol to 6-10 parts water, soak them for 10 minutes, then boil razors in water for 10-15 minutes, more Scrubbing Bubbles, rinse, then final step of soaking them in Mouth wash, i.e. Listerine for 5 minutes (if you really want to make sure everything is dead). I'm 99.9999% sure, everything that was living will be dead. If you're worried about Hep B, C just wait an additional month before using them, it should have died off on the surface after 3 weeks. If everybody is still worried about germs, then the safer alternative would be to not buy used razors and buy new ones, like Murkers.