Now that I have some time on my hands, I think it's a good idea to make a presentation of my own cleaning and disinfecting process. At some point, we will all finally try a vintage or a modern used razor. To feel safe enough to use it and say confidently it's ready, you have to follow a process. When I got my first vintage razor, I was looking for a guide on how to get it ready for use. I found many topics and used all these info to create my own process. I think it's a good guide and will help many fellow shavers. It has worked for me all these years.
First of all, we need the following items:
Plastic mug
Dish detergent
Hard toothbrush
Soft toothbrush
Pipe cleaner
Syringe
Barbicide
Disinfecting jar
Polishing liquid
Microfiber cloth
The process is as follows:
First of all, we need the following items:
Plastic mug
Dish detergent
Hard toothbrush
Soft toothbrush
Pipe cleaner
Syringe
Barbicide
Disinfecting jar
Polishing liquid
Microfiber cloth
The process is as follows:
- We put the razor in a mug for about ten minutes. Inside the mug, we've already made a mix of hot water and dish detergent. It will soften the dirt and will be easier to remove it. It'd be better if you had already loosen the razor.
- After that, we clean the parts of our razor using a toothbrush. If it's vintage, nickel-plated or very dirty, a hard toothbrush is recommended. If it's modern and its finish is mirror shiny polish, be gentle and use a soft toothbrush with caution. The last thing we want is to damage the finish of our razor. Take your time, clean it good. If there are hard to reach parts, if we are cleaning an adjustable razor for example, a good item to clean the gap between the base plate and the moving mechanism is the pipe cleaner.
- When the cleaning result is visible, we dry our razor using a cloth or even a hair dryer, that works too.
- If the razor is vintage, now it's time for the polishing. I recommend the Silvo. It's not an expensive product and you can find it easily (I guess). Use a microfiber cloth to polish the razor. You'll see the tarnish coming off. Repeat until your razor starts to shine. Then clean it gently with a clean cloth, wait some time and put it inside the mug with the hot water again and do some gentle washing.
- We continue by filling the disinfecting jar with 946ml of water and 59ml of Barbicide. This is the recommended analogy. A syringe will help you with the Barbicide quantity. About the water, fill it until the lines that start from the bottom of the bottle end. There is usually a sign on where to stop adding more water, each jar is different though.
- We place the parts of our razor inside the inner basket of the bottle and leave it there for 10 minutes. It's the recommended amount of time by the manufacturer of Barbicide. If you leave it less time, it will probably not do the job. If you leave it more time or you forget about it, it will damage the finish of your razor. Yes, I've seen that happening. Also, if your razor is made out of aluminum, Barbicide is a big no. It can damage the finish even if you put it for 10 minutes, it will start to flake off. There is plenty of room for more than one razor in there by the way.
- Finally the razor is ready for use, but prior to this clean it for one last time with plenty of warm water. We don't want that Barbicide on our face in case we accidentally cut ourselves.