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Boiling a razor in a weak bleech solution?

I recently picked up a couple of very clean razors at a antique store. The owner told me they were really dirty when he picked them up and the way he cleans them is to boil them in a 1 to 10 solution of bleach and water. Won't the bleach hurt the finish?
 
I just bought a Gillette '71 Super Adjustable from an antique store for $5. The dealer didn't even rinse it off, when I opened it, it still had a blade in it and the dead man's whiskers.(yuck,yuck). I rinsed it in hot water, scrubbing bubbles, then let it soak it 90/10 bleach water solution for about 30 minutes. Then I let it soak in alcohol overnight. The next morning when I took it out of the alcohol is gleamed like brand new! From what i have read bleach and alcohol should kill the yuck, yucks.
 
Hot water (not boiling), scrubbing bubbles, and possibly vinegar are the better bet for not destroying the razor and yet getting it shave-ready clean. If you are really worried about germs, etc., a Barbicide/Marvicide soak for 10-15 minutes (or whatever the label instructions say) is your best bet.
 
I wouldn't boil with beach, you might create chlorine gas.
Run your razor through the dishwasher, between the detergent and the hot dry cycle it should be clean.
 
And certainly never bleach on any razor with plastic parts, e.g. Schick Krona.

I use vinegar, then scrub with Bon Ami, then hot water, then polish.
 
I wouldn't boil with beach, you might create chlorine gas.
Run your razor through the dishwasher, between the detergent and the hot dry cycle it should be clean.

Bob:

I take it that what you mean is not to use the detergent cycle with the idea that the detergent will damage the plating, am I right?
 
I recently picked up a couple of very clean razors at a antique store. The owner told me they were really dirty when he picked them up and the way he cleans them is to boil them in a 1 to 10 solution of bleach and water. Won't the bleach hurt the finish?

If you have a gold-tone razor it probably has lacquer on it. Boiling will ruin the lacquer -- happened to me! Random pieces flaked off.
 
I recently picked up a couple of very clean razors at a antique store. The owner told me they were really dirty when he picked them up and the way he cleans them is to boil them in a 1 to 10 solution of bleach and water. Won't the bleach hurt the finish?

It might. Chlorine kills most of the germs cold. Boiling (just in water) will also kill most germs. But combining the two won't increase the desinfectant quality of the two but increases their destructive powers a lot.
In fact the last thing I would use to clean anything I want to preserve is bleech. Go for alcohol or jodium or silvernitrate based stuff ; it desinfects as thorough as bleech without the destructive aspect.
 
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Bob:

I take it that what you mean is not to use the detergent cycle with the idea that the detergent will damage the plating, am I right?

No I just meant the dishwasher detergent is powerful stuff and the hot dry cycle will kill anything the detergent doesn't.
I used to make Beer and after I'd washed the bottles I'd run them through the dishwasher with NO detergent just to get that hot steamy drying cycle.
 
Exposure to bright sunlight for a few hours will terminate much of the bad stuff with extreme prejudice. Then cleaning thoroughly (but not boiling) will finish the job. If you want to be really thorough...state laws require barbers to dip razors in Barbacide between customers. I would expect an overnight soak in that stuff to do the job.
 
Now im a totally new guy here, and havent yet, the word being "yet" got my safety razor, which I shall be enquiring about soon, but as far as disinfection goes heres what I think would be the best...

I deal a lot with dental equipment and all metal based things are usually treated at a non industrial scale with effervescent based solutions. We often recommend to patients with metal Cobalt Chrome based dentures, which is very durable and corrosive resistant, to use effervescent based solutions, rather than bleaches, which adds a layer of corrosive metal to the denture and probably the razor which will then in time to come turn green or black, "Green because of the cobalt in the denture" I would image the razor to be made from Stainless Steel and so may turn brown or black with time.:biggrin:
 
I deal a lot with dental equipment and all metal based things are usually treated at a non industrial scale with effervescent based solutions.

Can you give an example of an "effervescent based solution"? Something I could get at a local store.

BTW -- Welcome to B&B!
 
Cheers,

I live in the UK and what people can buy is "Steradent", "Boots Effervescent" and you can sometimes buy peroxide tablets which when placed in water produce oxygen bubbles (the effervescent effect) and more lovely H2O.

Possibly in the mix I would use a germicide every now and then to kill off any bugs, but the bubbles show get into the the little nooks and crannies to clean away clotted blood and general "scum" a grease based residue from use with soaps. Some people will also use similar based solutions to clean their contacts to remove proteins from the contact lens and keep it fresh.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
A good reference might be the following thread
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=30131

I think it should cover most of the subject. It always depends if you have plastic, brass and/or gold finish...

I did a bleach solution (bleach 4%) as 1 part bleach and 10 parts water because I had plastic on my SuperAdjustable. In the end, the TTO was much smoother, I think I left the razor in for half an hour. Scrubbing with a toothbrush is always good. I got one just for that. The ultra-sound machine is great too to kill pretty much anything and, already mentionned, barbicide.

If you do a combo of everything, it might kill pretty much everything. I would recommend scrubbing bubbles between cycles of cleaning. I do not know if going from a bleach solution to barbicide directly if it's good... That is, if you decide to use both.
 
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