Bugs in brush

[pontiac_paulie]

I have been using the same brush pretty much every day now for a year and a half.
A badger brush from AoS.
yesterday when I was soaking it before use I found 3 little bugs in the water that were not there before.
I use a stand for the brush and give it a good shake before hanging it up, (bristles down).
The brush is now in the freezer hopefully killing any critters that are left.
has any one else had this happen? And do you think the brush should be thrown away?
Thanks for any help.
Paul

 

[Foyle]

Well, I have never heard of that. What sort of bugs were they?

I should think a good cleaning would take care of the problem, but that is pretty gross.

 

[cb91710]

No need to throw it away, the bugs probably crawled in overnight.
We're having a terrible time right now with these little flying things.
They are almost like gnats, but seem to have a bit of a hard shell. They get into everything... including flying up our noses.

 

[luvmysuper]

Do you have any cats or dogs? Might it be confused fleas?

 

[aihpcfl]

If the bugs were in the brush, those three were most likely all there is, no more. I wouldn't have worried about it too much, other than what type of insect, where did they come from, and where are the rest of them. If it were me I would not have put the brush in the freezer, nor anything like that, just continued on with the shave.

That said, I haven't encountered this before. I'm curious about the bugs and why they chose the brush if you are using it every day. That is a little surprising, to me anyway.

 

[August West]

Everywhere else but luckily not in my shaving brush. Yet.

 

[igasho]

ok....I am now itching....I would personally toss the brush

 

[Snargle]

If there actually were any resident insects in the brush, a day or two in the freezer would certainly dispatch them. I suspect it's just some gnats that dropped in for an overnight stay. Give it a good cleaning and continue using it as normal.

 

[ChiefBroom]

God only knows what was in that hair when a badger was wearing it. I wouldn't be very concerned unless I thought I had critters breeding in one of my brushes, which doesn't seem too likely with one that gets frequent use.

I'd wash it thoroughly, let it dry (preferably in the sun and fresh air), then comb it out over a sheet of white paper to see if it might yield anything else of an unsavory nature. Maybe comb it out before and after washing.

If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say you had a trio of kamikaze gnats or the like. Could you tell if the floating bug corpses were flyers, crawlers, or jumpers?

 

[dpmtherrien]

It seems bugs can get into anything. I wouldn't get rid of the brush, and I wouldn't worry about it. Just give it a good shampoo and rinse, no problem.

 

[oldbluelight]

I wouldn't panic. If they were tiny they couldn't have eaten much hair. Give it a good hand lathering and then proceed as normal. If you're really obsessed with the possibility of more put the brush in an air-tight container with some moth crystals, not moth balls, for a week or so. That should wipe out any critters that might remain and it won't put the stress of freezing and thawing on the knot's adhesives.

 

[pontiac_paulie]

They were about 1 cm long. Didn't look like flying things, just checked the brush after being frozen. Nothing seems to be in there , just a weird occurrence maybe.
Thanks for all you replies.
Paul

 

[malocchio]

A cleansing in Mar-V-Cide or Barbicide will kill anything in there.I certainly would not freeze the brush,that could crack the knot glue.A bath in "Ship-Shape will clean it as well,but not disinfect it like the Marvy & Barbicide will.

 

[Lucidor]

Soap and water should kill the bugs, since soap lowers surface tension leading to the bugs suffocating with water in their spiracles. Freezing should do it too.

 

[aihpcfl]

They were about 1 cm long. Didn't look like flying things, just checked the brush after being frozen. Nothing seems to be in there , just a weird occurrence maybe.
Thanks for all you replies.
Paul

A centimeter? Three of them? In the brush? Those are some fairly large bugs to be exploring a shaving brush, seems to me.

I haven't been convince the bugs were in the brush to begin with. Maybe on the brush, but I'm not convinced of that either.

 

[Westaway]

A cleansing in Mar-V-Cide or Barbicide will kill anything in there.I certainly would not freeze the brush,that could crack the knot glue.A bath in "Ship-Shape will clean it as well,but not disinfect it like the Marvy & Barbicide will.

Freezing might do damage if there is any dampness present. Hopefully there is no damage done already. I'm not sure I would use Barbicide as opposed to a mild Borax solution or some other approved, safe cleaning agent for Badger Hair. The bugs may not be the thing to be concerned about. It may be more of a sanitation issue. Since you say that this brush has daily use as an "only brush", I don't think it has ever had a chance to be really dry depending on the humidity surrounding its location and the quick turnaround. Anything that remains damp most of the time invites growths like mold or mildew that would be easily seen if it was another surface area other than a shaving brush. Sheetrock walls or baseboards that have moldy growth can be identified and treated easily. I think I might invest in a couple of decent brushes (that can be very inexpensive if you look at either boar or pure grade badgers) and then have a rotation between shaves that allows for a more thorough drying time. Good brushes don't have to cost a lot. One of the nicest brushes I ever used was a Col Conk Model 247 Pure Badger. This brush was around $30 from Atlanta Barber Supply and was not only beautiful after many uses, but comfortably plush on the skin. It had a chrome handle and was packed by the Vulfix folks on the Isle of Man. I wish I still had it now but I gave it and a couple of new ones away as gifts to family members when I introduced them to the joy and economics of wet shaving.

I would say good luck with the bugs but I don't think they are really the main problem here.

 

[luvmysuper]

1 cm? That's over a third of an inch! That's a huge bug. How did three of them even fit in your brush?

 

[ChiefBroom]

There is a bright side.

I can imagine worse things than having to replace an AoS brush.

 

[Mick]

They may have been after the moisture in the brush. Nothing to worry about, soaping it up will take care of anything left behind

 

[dushea]

I hope, for everyone's sake, that you meant 1mm and not 1cm.