Soap scum on my Merkur

[New2DEShaving_Montreal]

Toothbrush, some rubbing alcohol, light dishwashing soap or cheap shampoo mixed in water should give you a good cleaning solution that will not only kill bacteria, it will also get the grime off the razor. The best practice to prevent it happening in the first place is to rinse it well during and after your shave. After you finish shaving, leave the razor submerged in hot water while you do your cleaning up, (sink, brush, soap, aftershave application etc) then you just take the razor out rinse it, give it a shake and you are good.

I clean my razor right after I throw out a blade.

p.s. Scrubbing Bubbles? I hear a lot about it, and I'm wondering if it is in Canada.

 

[johnisit]

After every shave, I spray some Simple Green on the razor, gently scrub with a toothbrush, rinse and dry. It takes me about 30 seconds. As a result, all of my razors are sparkling clean all the time.

 

[_JP_]

Wow! All of this scrubbing, using cleaning agents and such.

If that razor is a Merkur 3 piece, then do what I do in one simple step after taking it apart. I grab the terrycloth face towel that is on it's way to the laundry and buff the scum right off of it. Nice and shiny again, ready for the next shave. NO additives or preservatives required!

My more complex razors get the cleaning agents.

 

[ateace]

Wow! All of this scrubbing, using cleaning agents and such.

If that razor is a Merkur 3 piece, then do what I do in one simple step after taking it apart. I grab the terrycloth face towel that is on it's way to the laundry and buff the scum right off of it. Nice and shiny again, ready for the next shave. NO additives or preservatives required!

My more complex razors get the cleaning agents.

+1 I just wipe my razors down with a towel or facial tissue. No muss, no fuss and they look nice and shiny.

 

[Jethrobodinejr]

23 January 2013 Indianapolis US. I received my two repaired Visions approx.1 month after sending both back to Merkur. They broke upon my trying to take apart and put back togethor. Both had alot of soap scum in them. I would like to know a non-taking-apart, non destructive way to clean them of soap scum, whiskers, and calcium-lime (Indianapolis water-and I am not going to get a water softener for two $140 razors, tho I guess I could use distilled water.) Vinegar soaks, (perhaps citric acid or CLR diluted for very short time?? I don't know about the CLR) but the vinegar for 1/2 hour seemed to get rid of most of the calcium along with 2 hours in ultrasonic professional model jewelry cleaner. But this did not get rid of the shaving soap inside. So what I need is a way to get rid of the shaving soap scum that gets inside. I open up take out blade and rince in hot and cold water at great force after each shave and store razors upside down with head down and handle up to try to minimize soap getting inside--but it was in both.

I have tried to take these apart on two different razors and they both broke at the same place-the point where the long vertical piece hooks onto the butterfly mechanism- and I have found the Merkur instructions and all the on-line instructions including You-tube videos impossible to do myself. I cannot even get out the round part that caps the end of the handle and then get it back on!) My jeweler said they use Mr. Clean along with ultrasonic or instead of it to make repaired and used jewelry including watches look like new. Its active ingediaents are variations of ammonium chloride. Any ideas re a non-taking-apart, non destructive way to clean them of soap scum would be most welcome. Thomas J McKeon Indianapolis

 

[MrLara]

I avoid this problem by using hot water and just using my hand to wipe the razors clean. After i just use a microfiber towel to dry/polish it back up.

This is the way i look at this:

i payed alot for this razor and i wanna take care of it so it last a very very long time (even for the ones that were given as gifts, they get the same treatment. I'm very thankful for those). I clean and dry my razors after every shave. It might take me an extra 10 minutes, but i'm ok with that.

 

[foldinghunter]

A quick scrub with my wife's toothbrush during the blade change does wonders!

 

[adam833]

I use a little dish washing soap and a toothbrush

 

[sopipari]

I wipe mine down with my shaving towel to dry them off after every shave. I give them a quick once over when I change blades...so far all I've needed to do it wipe them and use a swab in the nooks and crannies. No build up yet to where I need to use a toothbrush.

I do give my razors a dip in some rubbing alcohol for about 30 seconds followed by a hot rinse every few months just to keep them sanitized.

 

[dymaxion]

Scrubbing bubble and a toothbrush whenever I change blades.

 

[Luke Sky High]

My shaving routine ends everytime with disassembly of the razor and scrubbing under hot water with my Semogue boar brush. The soap residue aggregates at cold temperature. I never let it accumulate. The toothbrush filaments are always harsher then a shaving brush and some toothpastes have questionable chemicals.
I stopped cleaning my bowl and brush under cold water because of the white/grey residue that was increasing at the base of the brush's loft.

 

[chonax]

A nice way to clean & disinfect in one step is a salt and rubbing alcohol bath.

1) Take a sturdy zip lock back
2) Add about 2-3 tbsp of a course salt (Kosher works really well here)
3) Add about 1/3 cup of rubbing alcohol.
4) Add your razor - (no blades, gents)
5) Seal the bag and give it a good shaking.

The best technique is to use your right hand to hold the razor horizontally in the bath, and the left hand holds the top of the bag upright so the liquid stays on the razor, and then shake the razor back and forth in the bath with your right hand.

The salt doesn't dissolve, so the salt crystals act as a micro-abrasive scrubbing agent (even in the tight spaces your toothbrush won't reach) while the alcohol softens the soap scum. After about 2-3 minutes of shaking your razor will be shiny as new.

WARNINGS:
- I have no idea how this will affect your razor if there is either paint (like numbers on a fatboy) or a coating (Like a DLC or etc). Please keep this in mind before attempting to clean your razor with this method.
- I recommend you do this over a sink in case a hole opens in the ziplock bag.