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0 pointsyourapostasy6y ago0 comments

With enough cleaning solvents and disinfectants, any object can be made safe again. There are people who dive into literal sewage retention ponds full of human waste in full SCUBA gear every day to work (clearing obstructions). After reading about that, squeamishness was never an issue for me. As long as it isn't some kind of chemical/biological/radiological warfare agent type substance, or a compound that makes chemists run from a room, I'm fine with it now.

That said, I'm absolutely delighted that toilet brushes can be rebristled, and sad that it seems there isn't any place in the US that does this. It irks me that when a brush is retired, a gigantic chunk of plastic heads into the landfill. I have yet to find a low-impact scrubbing solution, and rebristling with some organic-origin bristle that breaks down amending the soil would be ideal. I'd pay 2-3X the cost of a normal throwaway plastic brush to mail in a brush head and get back a rebristled brush head, and wonder if the rebristling could be automated.

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reaperducer6y ago

It irks me that when a brush is retired, a gigantic chunk of plastic heads into the landfill.

I feel this way about toothbrushes. They've gotten very expensive and seem to be designed to last only a month or two.

I picked up a couple of eco-friendly ones in the supermarket recently. They're made of bamboo. They're also crap. Now I'm back on the plastic toothbrush treadmill.

yonaguska6y ago

I keep my old toothbrushes for cleaning various things so at least I can re-use them. Bicycle chains, baseboards, bathroom tiles, etc.

reaperducer6y ago

Yeah, I do that for cleaning grout. But the amount of grout to clean in my house is dwarfed by my used toothbrush supply. I wish they could at least be recycled.

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rezeroed6y ago

If you start putting used toilet brushes in the post, I will no longer accept any mail. Are you not confusing biodegradable with repair? Wooden brushes with bamboo bristles or something instead of poo post?

zrobotics6y ago

You do know that all sorts of unpleasant things are sent through the post, correct? A neighbor of ours when I was growing up literally shipped bull semen, that was a large part of their business.

And sewage is regularly sent through the mail as well, many municipal sewage-treatment plants ship samples to specialized labs for analysis. Toilet-brushes are far from the most disgusting things sent through the mail, and unless you clean your toilet without flushing any waste in the bowl first they aren't even that dirty. Considering the prevalence of sanitizing toilet cleaner, it wouldn't surprise me if the average brush is cleaner than the door handles of a public restroom.

robk6y ago

In many countries medical feces samples as sent back to a lab. I'm sure end users are careless and messy when they send them too!

SyneRyder6y ago

You've probably not heard of the Australian Government's free bowel cancer screening program then, mailed out to everyone aged 50-74:

https://www.cancer.nsw.gov.au/how-we-help/screening-and-earl...

systemtest6y ago

I have a European toilet (one that is not filled to the brim with water) and I clean it by putting bleach in the bowl and leaving it overnight. I then put the toilet brush inside the drain pipe submerging it in the water/bleach mixture. By doing this I can use a single brush for years with it being brand new.

Also, when you flush and wipe the skidmarks from the bowl, use the flowing water to immediately clean the brush. Don't put it away with poo in the bristles.

rezeroed6y ago

Everyone talks about how advanced the Japanese toilets are. I think the Japanese are focussing on the wrong aspect - I would prefer efforts were put into toilets cleaning themselves rather than backsides.

amelius6y ago

> I clean it by putting bleach in the bowl

But if your neighbors flush vinegar down the toilet, it will react into chlorine in the sewer.

pnutjam6y ago

I thought it was ammonia and bleach that should never be mixed.

novok6y ago

Isn't bleach used in a lot of laundry cleaning already, so it's a bit inevitable that bleach & vinegar would end up in the sewer system?

daemin6y ago

What does vinegar + bleach do exactly? It sounds like something I don't want to try at home.

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0 pointsyourapostasy6y ago0 comments

0 comments

reaperducer6y ago

It irks me that when a brush is retired, a gigantic chunk of plastic heads into the landfill.

I feel this way about toothbrushes. They've gotten very expensive and seem to be designed to last only a month or two.

I picked up a couple of eco-friendly ones in the supermarket recently. They're made of bamboo. They're also crap. Now I'm back on the plastic toothbrush treadmill.

yonaguska6y ago

I keep my old toothbrushes for cleaning various things so at least I can re-use them. Bicycle chains, baseboards, bathroom tiles, etc.

reaperducer6y ago

Yeah, I do that for cleaning grout. But the amount of grout to clean in my house is dwarfed by my used toothbrush supply. I wish they could at least be recycled.

1 more reply

rezeroed6y ago

zrobotics6y ago

You do know that all sorts of unpleasant things are sent through the post, correct? A neighbor of ours when I was growing up literally shipped bull semen, that was a large part of their business.

robk6y ago

In many countries medical feces samples as sent back to a lab. I'm sure end users are careless and messy when they send them too!

SyneRyder6y ago

You've probably not heard of the Australian Government's free bowel cancer screening program then, mailed out to everyone aged 50-74:

https://www.cancer.nsw.gov.au/how-we-help/screening-and-earl...

systemtest6y ago

Also, when you flush and wipe the skidmarks from the bowl, use the flowing water to immediately clean the brush. Don't put it away with poo in the bristles.

rezeroed6y ago

amelius6y ago

> I clean it by putting bleach in the bowl

But if your neighbors flush vinegar down the toilet, it will react into chlorine in the sewer.

pnutjam6y ago

I thought it was ammonia and bleach that should never be mixed.

novok6y ago

Isn't bleach used in a lot of laundry cleaning already, so it's a bit inevitable that bleach & vinegar would end up in the sewer system?

daemin6y ago

What does vinegar + bleach do exactly? It sounds like something I don't want to try at home.

2 more replies

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse