This morning it finally happened. While reaching for my synthetic shaving brush (in the midst of my shave), I inadvertently knocked it off the counter and it fell right on top of our plunger! I immediately rinsed it off and set it to dry. Needless to say I'm not sure if I'd ever trust using it again, but I thought I'd throw it to the forum to see what the consensus was on: a) if it can be cleaned and sanitized; and b) how that might be best accomplished.