Sterilizing wood-handled brushes?

[Vintage Betty]

Can someone point out how to clean and sterilize vintage wood-handled brushes? What about non-wood handled brushes (Vintage vanity table brushes, etc).

I used the search feature but didn't find any threads on this; pointers to existing threads welcome.

Thank you!

Vintage Betty

 

[volatile]

Can someone point out how to clean and sterilize vintage wood-handled brushes? What about non-wood handled brushes (Vintage vanity table brushes, etc).

I used the search feature but didn't find any threads on this; pointers to existing threads welcome.

Thank you!

Vintage Betty

Autoclave? Ultrasonic? If you want "sterile", a combo of those two is probably the only way to achieve it.

 

[Lady Day]

I dont think you can.
I mean a good cleaning of the bristles in soap and water, and a good wipe down of the wood handle, but too much heat will burn them, too much water will waterlog them.

I say just leave them in direct sunlight for a day.

LD

 

[pdxvintagette]

Well, don't do this very often - and BE CAREFUL if your vintage brush has any paint, color, etc - but this is how it is done.

Pull out all the hair. Wash your brush with your shampoo and little warm water. Shake the excess out. Before the bristles have dried, run the bristle section only through a solution of either

a) 50/50 white vinegar and water
OR
b) 1/2 tsp. chlorine bleach in full sink of water.

(DO NOT GET THE WOOD IMMERSED. And if you have celluloid, you might want to sacrifice a little bit of sterility in exchange for not putting bleach spots on your favorite vintage piece.)

Hold the bristles in the water for about 30 seconds. Lay the brush on a towel or pad of paper towels and let it drain. Do not shake the excess water out first.

When the brush is dry, give it a quick rinse before using it again.

I would like to state, my mother did this about once every three months, but I admit that I have only done it once in my entire life.

 

[Warbaby]

Prolly the simplest method of sterilization would be to put them under a strong UV lamp for a few hours.

 

[Bugsy]

I was told once by a barber that the best way to clean any hair brush was to lather the bristles very well with your regular shampoo, work it into the handle, and rinse thoroughly. The trick he taught me was NEVER to let the brush dry upright so the water seeps down into the handle and loosens the glue. Turn the brush bristle side down, or get a piece of wire and hang it up so the water drains completely away and the brush air dries.

 

[Vintage Betty]

Thanks for all the replies so far! I have a batch of vintage brushes to clean, so PDX, with a nod of respect to your mother, I'm taking the easy way out! lol

Some great suggestions so far, anyone else have any thoughts?

Vintage Betty

 

[alden405]

i have frozen stuff in the deep freezer for 72 hours

a curator at a museum suggested this

 

[TM]

Maybe some sterilization methods used in home beer brewing could work?

http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue1.2/raines.html

This is one of the sterilizers that doesn't even require rinsing:

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/brewing-equipment/cleaning-chemicals-equipment/sanitation-cleaning/one-step.html

Tony