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Barbicide or alcohol

If the razor is dirty with soap scum, a soak in Scrubbing Bubbles will both clean and sterilize it. For razors that are already clean, I just use alcohol... and I haven't died of infection yet.
 
Barbicide is not necessary.

Wash with dishwashing soap/water, scrub with a toothbrush. Spray with Scrubbing Bubbles and let the foam die down, then scrub with a toothbrush again. Rinse thoroughly.

Take some 70% rubbing alcohol, wet a cotton ball with it, and then wipe the razor with it. Allow the razor to air dry.


Good to go.
 
Any living organisms will die if the razor is left alone for a day or two, so all you really need to do is scrub the scum, dirt and grime off of it with dish soap, scrubbing bubbles or some other cleaning agent that won't harm the finish or coating of the razor. I recommend using an old tooth brush to get into all of the nooks and crannies.

I never quite understand why people soak their DE razors for X amount of time in barbicide or alcohol. If you're going to soak anything in a disinfectant soak the things that are going to cut you (the blades) and not the harmless hunk of metal that just glides across your skin.
And even that's not necessary, we have an immune system for a reason.
Do you soak your kitchen knives in alcohol before cutting a salad?

Just my 2 cents.
 
When I was at the store yesterday, I saw many different varieties of Scrubbing Bubbles. Which should I get?
 
Just Scrubbing Bubbles brand soap scum remover/bathroom cleaner in the aerosol can. I don't know if they have different scents now, but I wouldn't think it would matter. Just don't get Ka-Boom soap scum remover instead... I heard it eats brass.
 
I use Mar-V-Cide on my brushes once every 2 months.I dip the brush down PAST the knot ,and onto the handle,so the anti-microbial ingredients can get deep into the base of the knot.I don't want to crack the handle,so I only leave the handle submerged for 2 minutes,then I elevate it ,so only the top 2/3rds of the knot are submerged,5 minutes is enough....mold,microbes etc. are far more likely to fester deep down in the knot than on your metal razor.The other tips are just fine to sterilize your razors,toothbrush,scrubbing bubbles and hot water rinse.Dry it off with toilette paper.Marvy is good if you want to douse your blades,just PAT them dry with tp,don't wipe them.
 
The way I look at it, if I saw my barber pull out her scissors/ blade and spray them off with scrubbing bubbles or some form of alcohol...I would feel a little uneasy.
However, I use both scrubbing bubble for clean up and barbicide for sterilization.
 
I use Mar-V-Cide on my brushes once every 2 months.I dip the brush down PAST the knot ,and onto the handle,so the anti-microbial ingredients can get deep into the base of the knot.I don't want to crack the handle,so I only leave the handle submerged for 2 minutes,then I elevate it ,so only the top 2/3rds of the knot are submerged,5 minutes is enough....mold,microbes etc. are far more likely to fester deep down in the knot than on your metal razor.The other tips are just fine to sterilize your razors,toothbrush,scrubbing bubbles and hot water rinse.Dry it off with toilette paper.Marvy is good if you want to douse your blades,just PAT them dry with tp,don't wipe them.

Never really thought about the mold etc. but you are completely right, the razor seems to dry off faster, at most it gets some rust. But Badger hair can sometimes stay wet (I've had mine not dry out a couple of times before the next shave due to my error of not squeezing out enough water).

My question for the brushed is 1. How long have you been doing this and 2. Have you noticed any issues at all?

Not sure how the current recommended tip of vinegar and water will kill all off everything, maybe most, not sure, but I guess if it does work it would be a lot less damaging (I would think) than Mar-v-cide. Then again I'm not really sure, just sounds like hair would get a little funky with that strong of a chemical, but the shampoo/conditioner might bring it back fine, the problem is I'm wonder how it will affect the brush in the long-term (if you're like me and have extra razors, but brushes are a bit pricey to ruin!)
 
I paid something like $7-8 for some Barbicide, for that little money why not just do it?
If you already have some sunk money in Barbicide, you might as well use it.

Recently I have been letting the head of my razor soak in rubbing alcohol for a few seconds while I go through my post shave routine, but really have to question the need to do so.

I don't normally keep Scrubbinb Bubbles around the house, so for my last acquisition of an old razor I cleaned off the gunk with toothpaste and some vinegar, rinsed in hot water, soaked it in Lysol, rinsed again, soaked in alcohol, and rinsed again. When I get the next razor, I'll probably skip the Lysol bath.
 
If you already have some sunk money in Barbicide, you might as well use it.

Recently I have been letting the head of my razor soak in rubbing alcohol for a few seconds while I go through my post shave routine, but really have to question the need to do so.

I don't normally keep Scrubbinb Bubbles around the house, so for my last acquisition of an old razor I cleaned off the gunk with toothpaste and some vinegar, rinsed in hot water, soaked it in Lysol, rinsed again, soaked in alcohol, and rinsed again. When I get the next razor, I'll probably skip the Lysol bath.

Just to clarify, I bought and used the barbacide on vintage razors I purchased (some may have been previously sanitized, but just for my own peace of mind I did them all at once).

If I just had my own Merkur I have been the only one to use...I don't think I'd dip it in Barbacide, that doesn't sound so useful, I think I'd use alcohol and still only dip it in because I feel like that's pretty harsh for something that really shouldn't need to be sterilized...if I'm the only person using it I'm not sure how easy it is to have any issues, I leave it out to air dry and never noticed it wet the next day.
 
Barbicide/Marvicide will give you a bit of extra sterilization of your newly obtained vintage razor, compared to, say, alcohol. That said, I wouldn't use it for regular cleaning, since they are pretty toxic.
 
Never really thought about the mold etc. but you are completely right, the razor seems to dry off faster, at most it gets some rust. But Badger hair can sometimes stay wet (I've had mine not dry out a couple of times before the next shave due to my error of not squeezing out enough water).

My question for the brushed is 1. How long have you been doing this and 2. Have you noticed any issues at all?

Not sure how the current recommended tip of vinegar and water will kill all off everything, maybe most, not sure, but I guess if it does work it would be a lot less damaging (I would think) than Mar-v-cide. Then again I'm not really sure, just sounds like hair would get a little funky with that strong of a chemical, but the shampoo/conditioner might bring it back fine, the problem is I'm wonder how it will affect the brush in the long-term (if you're like me and have extra razors, but brushes are a bit pricey to ruin!)
......I sent a vintage butterscotch duke I used for about 25 years to rudy vey a few years back,when a crack in the handle became worse and worse.Rudy found a nasty patch of mold growing deep in the knot,even though I always let it thoroughly dry.I never used disinfectant until that day.I have been using Mar-V-Cide every few months since then.Marvicide is safe for brushes,and used in proper dilution,has no scent and once rinsed out is gone for good,nothing toxic in the brush at all.It is 100% as effective as barbicide but costs 50% less to use.You should vigorously shake as much water out of your brush as possible,then hang upside down for maximum drying. A second or third brush really helps a lot,giving your brushes time to really get bone dry in between shaves.With a nice Marvy disinfectant jar you can disinfect all your brushes at one time,or 1-2 brushes and your razor..
 
Any living organisms will die if the razor is left alone for a day or two, so all you really need to do is scrub the scum, dirt and grime off of it with dish soap, scrubbing bubbles or some other cleaning agent that won't harm the finish or coating of the razor. I recommend using an old tooth brush to get into all of the nooks and crannies.

I never quite understand why people soak their DE razors for X amount of time in barbicide or alcohol. If you're going to soak anything in a disinfectant soak the things that are going to cut you (the blades) and not the harmless hunk of metal that just glides across your skin.
And even that's not necessary, we have an immune system for a reason.
Do you soak your kitchen knives in alcohol before cutting a salad?

Just my 2 cents.

While I totally agree with you in the exact spirit of your post, and feel anything beyond some soap and water are totally silly to waste time and/or money on, it's not true that any living organism will die in a couple of days. Some spore producing organism such as anthrax can live for years, even decades on an otherwise perfectly clean surface. In fact, horse hair brushes were once banned in the U.S. because they were spreading anthrax.

I still would not even hesitate to rinse a razor that is otherwise clean under some hot water and shave with it... A quick spray, couple minutes soak time with any scrubbing bubbles formula and a minute with a toothbrush and you are good to go for even a dirty one.
 

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
If the razor is dirty with soap scum, a soak in Scrubbing Bubbles will both clean and sterilize it. For razors that are already clean, I just use alcohol... and I haven't died of infection yet.
Bob:
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...I use a spray bottle filled with alcohol to sterilze my razors. :thumbsup:

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"Don't worry about the [cuts, weepers and] nicks and pick up your life...forget all the bad things, the pain and the strife". Author Unknown
 
If you have the Barbicide already, then go ahead and use it on vintage or other razors you've acquired from other people (used). Frankly, there is no need to sanitize razors (or blades for that matter) that are exclusively used on you. The only reason you would need to sanitize a razor with such solution, is if someone else used the razor prior to you using it, or if someone uses the razor after you've used it. Back when barbers used a true straight razor, we were required by law to sterilize the razor before using it again on another customer (basically, the straight razors were communal razors... the same razor use on everyone). Also, the reason barbers long ago used after shave splashes of high alcohol content, was to sanitize your face for extra precaution against the possible nicks, weepers, etc...
 
I use barbicide because I like having the cool barber's soak jar on the counter in the shave den

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Barbicide is inexpensive, effective, and readily available. What that being said, you can use both. Using both is still inexpensive, and gives you peace of mind.
Better safe than sorry.
 
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