Cleaning and desinfecting razors

[Ron R]

This is my method of cleaning that has evolved a little over time.
When I buy vintage razors from antique stores or garage sales or on Ebay sometimes there are old blades(antique stores ) left in the razor and soap scum that is decades old.
1st- place razor in a old pot with warm water and bring to a boil to loosen the scum and what ever stains and not to shock what ever coating that is on the razor. Boil for a few minutes. Some fellows do not recommend boiling but it seems to lift the soap scum better.
Do not boil any plastics if possible, that might be affected by heat and I avoid if possible.
2nd- old tooth brush and dawn anti bacterial soap and scrub the worse off. Wear some nitril rubber gloves if possible.(soap is hard on the hide)
3rd- repeat 1 and 2 procedure if really bad.
4th- soak in some Isoproybal alcohol 70-100% for a least 5 -10 minutes to remove water in the stubborn hard to get at areas.
4th- take some Weiman stove top cleaner and give it a good cleaning with a tooth brush and rinse with water and towel with a micro fiber cloth.

Works for me and had good results so far.

 

[6Cuda6]

So if you finish hone with dish soap on your stones does that count .

As Polarbeard said im not sure how crazy one should go here but what ever makes you feel safe.....

Anyone know if the xray machines the postal service uses on all packages is strong enough to kill germs? I know the ones at the airport are strong enough to kill my phones and laptop.....lol.

 

[steveclarkus]

Most germs can't live outside some kind of organical host, most often the human body, but there are a few like tetanus that live in fresh horse dung. Those that can live outside an organical host die within at most a couple of hours with very few exceptions like leprosy that can survive for decades.
What I'm getting to is that old razors might be dirty but all potential germs are dead long ago. Of course I clean them with tooth paste and a tooth brush, restore and hone them before shaving with them but that has nothing to do with desinfection.

+1

 

[Ice-Man]

I’m curious if you can apply/immerse gold plated blades into it without damage ?



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I do and had no problems at all with it, seeing these items are used in water and Barbicide is mixed with water.
But do dry the item well once you remove it, as I dunk them for 20 mins that's all that is needed....

 

[Twelvefret]

We should be more concerned about washing out hands well before shaving. I never notice this being mentioned. Our cell phones are often contaminated. We are a cornucopia of bacterial growth.

 

[steveclarkus]

The way we build resistance is simply staying dirty.

 

[HCS]

You know Hepatitis is much harder to kill than HIV. In fact HIV isn’t particularly stable and is quite easy to kill off. Hep B can live on a dry surface for up to 10 days.

A note on IPA 70% which is the sweet spot for IPA - water plays a key part in denaturing the proteins of the cell membrane in the bugs. IPA 70 will destroy the plasma membrane of the cell wall but IPA 90 will not do the same thing and using IPA 100 will actually reinforce the bug. Also your tools shouldn’t be soaked in IPA 70, but dipped or sprayed and left to dry. IPA is not effective against HPV.

I use generic baby sterilisation fluid at a 1:10 ratio and I soak for between 15-30 mins, rinse and then spray it down with 70% IPA and leave to dry. Using both
sodium hypochlorite and IPA 70 can have angles covered but it’s also very import to actually clean before sanitising or sterilising.



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[clepal]

Hi Guys,
Very informative thread....
I am new here and I am looking to restore old razors as a hobby. Do you recommend the following, once I receive an old razor?
1. Soak complete razor (blade and scales) in disinfectant e.g. Barbicide overnight
2. Clean razor (blade and scales) with an old tooth brush with and bacterial soap and scrub the worse off (repeat if necessary)
3. Dry Razor (blade and scales) by soaking it in some Isoproybal alcohol 70-100% for a least 5 -10 minutes to remove water
4. Soak razor overnight in CLR to remove rust.

Will this work for all types of scales on the razor? Would you recommend always removing the scales every time and repining it?
Thank you for your help
Graham

 

[Post_Shave]

You know Hepatitis is much harder to kill than HIV. In fact HIV isn’t particularly stable and is quite easy to kill off. Hep B can live on a dry surface for up to 10 days.

A note on IPA 70% which is the sweet spot for IPA - water plays a key part in denaturing the proteins of the cell membrane in the bugs. IPA 70 will destroy the plasma membrane of the cell wall but IPA 90 will not do the same thing and using IPA 100 will actually reinforce the bug. Also your tools shouldn’t be soaked in IPA 70, but dipped or sprayed and left to dry. IPA is not effective against HPV.

I use generic baby sterilisation fluid at a 1:10 ratio and I soak for between 15-30 mins, rinse and then spray it down with 70% IPA and leave to dry. Using both
sodium hypochlorite and IPA 70 can have angles covered but it’s also very import to actually clean before sanitising or sterilising.



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Does it make sense to spray all razors with IPA after using them daily? IPA shouldn’t harm any razor finishes, even brass? I’ve always heard that a blade left till reused in IPA will have less sharpness degradation due to water/humidity.

 

[serikloo]

Aloha,

Maybe a bit overboard but, any used razor I receive gets a Scrubbing Bubbles wash, Barbicide soak, alcohol soak, drying for 2 days then a rest in the UV sterilizer unit.

Mahalo

 

[street]

I use 98% alcohol .
Put it on a clough and wipe the razor a few times with it.Done.