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The Most Vile Apparatus

by samantha on March 19, 2009

The toilet brush.

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image credit: diongillard’s flickr

Yes. The toilet brush. It’s the most vile, disgusting and bacteria laden apparatus in the house.

Aside from the Husband.

Oh, come on, you knew I had to say something.

We have an ongoing argument here: To clean or not to clean.

I say between purchases, the holder and brush has to be cleaned once and a while.

Mike believes that since it harbours all the disgustingness of the toilet it should be left to fester.

So, dear Internetz, I turn to you.

The question(s): Clean or not to clean? And how often do you replace that disgusting festering vile object?

Let’s discuss! I’ll see you in the comments.


{ 33 comments }

1 Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] March 19, 2009 at 9:02 am

erm… is it bad that I never considered washing the toilet brush?

Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing]´s last blog post..If I could speak, this is what I’d say

2 samantha March 19, 2009 at 10:24 am

Yes. Yes it is.

I don’t think we can be twins anymore.

3 aimee March 19, 2009 at 10:17 am

I’m with Angie…never considered it! This post cracked me up, though, and now I’m going to obsess–but just how would you clean such a thing??

aimee´s last blog post..Are you organized yet? (Psssst, it’s a giveaway!)

4 samantha March 19, 2009 at 10:25 am

I just wash the holder and spray the brush with a bleach and water mix. I don’t scrub it down… that’s disgusting. LOL

5 Peggy March 19, 2009 at 11:11 am

Just throw it in the dishwasher with the toothbrushes!

ps – I’m with the others…never thought of it and never will.

Peggy´s last blog post..Thursday

6 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:29 am

OMG. The dishwasher? Gah!! Toss the sextoys in at the same time?

7 Sticky March 19, 2009 at 12:01 pm

Ok, in the dishwasher – fine. But with the toothbrushes?? Peggy! Ick!

I try never to think about the “vile” thing…but now that you have mentioned it? Have to clean. More that the rinsing off I do now….ick, ick, ick….

Sticky´s last blog post.."…the best Mommy I have"

8 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:30 am

In the dishwasher is NOT fine. What are you talking about?! LOL

9 Mo March 19, 2009 at 12:56 pm

Ack. Gawd, I never considered cleaning the toilet brush. Now I’m totally grossed out and will immediately go home and throw mine out and start over with a new one. They should just be disposable—use once and throw out. Ick.

Mo´s last blog post..Caption This…

10 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:34 am

Disposable is not really conducive to living greener. LOL Well, unless they’re biodegradable.

11 laural March 19, 2009 at 1:05 pm

I’m not a clean freak/germaphobe. But … I clean the toilet brush every time.
I fill the sink with hot water and Mr. Clean and soak the brush in there along with the brush holder. I also replace them every 2-3 months.
My husband does not do this.
His opinion is that the bathroom only needs to be cleaned once a month.

laural´s last blog post..Stupid Parenting

12 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:36 am

Soak the brush with the tooth brush holder?!

13 Mags March 19, 2009 at 2:07 pm

I use the disposable brushes. I do clean the handle after I dispose of the brush with Chlorox and steamy water. I don’t think my husband has ever cleaned a toilet bowl.

Mags´s last blog post..Diamonds are a girl’s best friend…

14 Elle March 19, 2009 at 2:18 pm

Toilets make me gag – I can’t touch them. Thank God that guy I married is sweet enough to do the bathroom cleaning.
I can’t stand the thought of that nasty brush being cleaned anywhere else in the house – all that cross-contaminative splatter.
I buy a new one every month – its only a couple bucks.

15 Alexandra March 19, 2009 at 3:01 pm

You mean swirling it around in the water as you flush down the cleaner doesn’t count? I guess I never considered “cleaning “it as it is used to “clean”…. ::blink:: ::blink::

16 foradifferentkindofgirl (fadkog) March 19, 2009 at 4:39 pm

We don’t have a toilet brush because I know without a doubt my kids would pick that crap up and be running around the house with it as some nasty weapon, regardless of all the warnings I’d given them not to mess with it. What this means is I put my damn hand in the toilets to clean them. If there was a way to get the entire toilet cleaned, inside and out, without a nasty brush sitting around or having to put my hands in it, I would embrace it and call it my own.

foradifferentkindofgirl (fadkog)´s last blog post..from awesome to awkward – a beginner’s guide

17 iMommy March 19, 2009 at 8:17 pm

I’m pretty sure Billy Mays can help you with that. He’s got a product for everything.

iMommy´s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday: Look at these pictures instead of having another baby edition

18 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:37 am

Bwahahahaha! Billy Mays is the BEST!

19 katie ~ motherbumper March 19, 2009 at 6:24 pm

The toilet brush is my biggest and naughtiest not-so-secret-anymore sin against the environment. I buy them in bulk at IKEA and toss them when I think they have reached maximum groddiness. In between the tossings, I put a diluted bleach in holder and somehow, through the grace of I don’t know what, Gigi hasn’t used it for a sword fight. But now that I’ve said that….

And I cannot believe I just confessed my green sin AND discussed toilet brushes. I love you Sam.

katie ~ motherbumper´s last blog post..The Big Tease

20 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:37 am

You naughty naughty sinner. Makes me HOT.

21 Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah March 19, 2009 at 9:12 pm

Um… I let the cleaning people deal with it.

I’m not kidding. I work three internet jobs so I don’t have to clean my toilet. I’m not proud.

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah´s last blog post..Cheese Powder

22 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:38 am

Kuddos to you.

But now you’re going to think about whether or not they clean it!?

23 buttercup March 20, 2009 at 7:09 am

I occasionally spray it liberally with bleachy bathroom cleaner, and replace it when we move (which has been every couple of years).

24 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:38 am

Sounds like me :D

25 sherendipity March 20, 2009 at 8:03 am

Wait…you’re supposed to clean your toilet???
:P

sherendipity´s last blog post..This license plate disturbs me for many reasons.

26 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:40 am

Dirtbag. LOL

27 samantha March 20, 2009 at 8:37 am

What is with people and toilet brushes and toothbrush holders?! LOL

I just can’t even fathom putting my toothbrush holder and toiletbrush together. I mean, one holds something I brush my teeth with and the other scrubs the shitter.

28 Karen Sugarpants March 20, 2009 at 9:35 am

I use the disposable kind that dissolve in the toilet after about a minute. (Lysol brand?)
They are the shit. Haha…

29 Karly March 21, 2009 at 8:34 am

I, uh, don’t clean mine. Ever. In fact, the last time I cleaned the toilet I FINALLY threw away my old one because it was so nasty. I haven’t bought a new one yet. I should probably do that, huh?

Karly´s last blog post..It’s My Birthday and You’ll Do What I Say.

30 kristi crazy March 21, 2009 at 10:55 pm

Oh, wow. I bleach mine every once in awhile. But replace it? REALLY??

kristi crazy´s last blog post..Friday Five

31 annie March 22, 2009 at 3:03 pm

Nah, I don’t really clean it, but I try to swish it around in the toilet with some cleaner after I’ve scrubbed the toilet and flushed it once.

But you know my pet peeve? The toilet brush, whether in or out of a holder, that sits OUT, in the corner or whatever. It seems I see one without a holder just as often as with the holder in the corner of people’s bathrooms.
It should be put away OUT OF SIGHT!!!!
Ick!!!!!
Put the toilet brush AWAY, people!!!

annie´s last blog post..I’m a Twit

32 nutty mummy March 22, 2009 at 4:18 pm

I use disposable toilet brushes with the paper thingy on the end because I cannot cope with the poo laden bacteria home that is the standard loo brush….. I clean my bathroom every day because I nearly passed out the first time I saw my toddler first born play with the loo seat and then put her hand in her mouth…. since then…. toilet cleaned every time someone takes a winnie and bathroom cleaned every day…..

we could probably eat tea of my toilet it’s that clean….

Toilets are yukky!!! Bleurgh!

nutty mummy´s last blog post..Jade Goody

33 Suebob March 22, 2009 at 10:19 pm

Toss it out. A new one is like what, $4? Totally worth it.

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