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Cleaning DE's

Hey guys,

How do you clean your DE's?

I've been using a toothbrush after each shave and using dish soap to brush it clean. I then dry it nicely and leave it until my next shave. I have noticed a few "water spots" on the razor, how do you reduce those/what do you use to avoid these?
 
I do the same process - soap, water and tooth brush - but usually only when I change blades. That said, I have very soft water here and water spots aren't an issue. Not sure what to do about the water spots that you have though.

-jim
 
How much time you need to spend cleaning your DE razor is going to vary a LOT by what your water type is.

I have a water softener, and get almost zero soap scum build-up on my razors. It doesn't really matter if I clean the razor every week, or every year.

My hot water heater is set to "warm" - meaning a comfortable shower temperature is 100% hot water, no cold turned on at all. As such, I keep an electric "hot water kettle" in the bathroom to heat up a cup or so of hot water when I step into the shower. (They shut off automatically when they reach boiling temp.)

When I'm done with my shower and shave, I rinse my razor under the "hot water" tap, then pour a little of the steaming hot water (It's been 10 minutes or so since it was boiling, so is probably around 165 degrees or so.) over my razor. Since the water is hot, and the metal of the razor gets heated up to very hot temperature, a couple of shakes of the razor after that, and it will be totally dry in 15 or 20 seconds. If I am concerned about water spots, a single wipe of a tissue across the razor head before it dries will prevent it.

If you have hard water, obviously, you are going to have a hard water deposit/soap scum issue that is going to either require you cleaning your razor more often, or get a gallon of distilled water from the grocery store, and after your final rinse in hard water, swirl your razor around in a little jar of the distilled water for a few seconds. I would think that this would remove most of the hard water from the razor before it dries and would likely reduce buildup considerably... This would be especially true if the distilled water were warm or hot. You could probably put a cup of water in a jar, and use that same jar of water for a week before you get enough mineral buildup in the water to necessitate changing the water.

Of course, a dunk in a jar of rubbing alcohol would do about the same thing, and at the same time provide a bit of disinfection if that makes you feel warmer and fuzzier inside. :)
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
Only when I change blades. After a shave, hot water rinse, dry thoroughly with towel.

When changing blade, dish soap and warm water with old toothbrush.
 
A gentle wipe dry after hot rinse with a towel .At each blade change every week i give the chrome a polish with a jewellery cloth
 
I shake em dry after each shave, and if they're not too funky--they all gather some degree of soapy residue--I stick em back in the cabinet and do em all together once a month or so. Again, YMMV depending on water qualities, and how OCD you are :001_smile
 
I always disassemble the razor, take the blade out, put it on a towel in my shave den, pat carefully dry and less careful with the razor itself. It has some soap residue on the head but doesn't matter me that much. I'm doing it right?
 
I think I've cleaned me Merkur once maybe twice in over a year. It's got some soap scum build up, though. Maybe I'll hit it with scrubbing bubbles sometime soon... :)
 
There's no right way of doing it. Just the the way that makes you feel satisfied. Some are only happy with a full break down clean after every shave. Some never clean, just rinse and change blades.

Mark.
 
My logic is, I take out the blade and disassemble because water may get stuck in the head damaging (rust?) the blade. I'm not that worried about the head and razor itself though, looks pretty durable. Patting the blade will get the blade dry faster without damaging it (no wiping i guess, which blade wrappers say)
 
I don't really get too involved with it after each shave, I just rinse really well, give it a few good shakes, and put it in its holder. I've never had a problem doing just this. :001_tongu

Every so often, a few weeks or a couple of months, I give it a good cleaning with either scrubbing bubbles or a dab of toothpaste and a good brushing. :w00t:
 
I don't really get too involved with it after each shave, I just rinse really well, give it a few good shakes, and put it in its holder. I've never had a problem doing just this. :001_tongu

Every so often, a few weeks or a couple of months, I give it a good cleaning with either scrubbing bubbles or a dab of toothpaste and a good brushing. :w00t:
+1. Life's too short to get too wrapped around the axle about this.
 
I take mine apart and wipe it dry after every use. I have seen people use them for years without cleaning them and they work fine. They just look bad with all the soap buildup.
 
I have crazy hard water here at school so i actually clean the razor with a q tip and then dry it nicely. Plan on using scrubbing bubbles later on like once a month to keep it nice.
 
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