Would it be absolutely disgusting to...

I'd have to discard the dishwasher afterwards :/

I don’t think I would do that.

Just wondering how much all that hot water/electricity/detergent would compare financially and environmentally to getting some cheap new loo brushes?

Of course it's fine ! Dishwashers temperature is set to kill all bugs

I wouldn't and don't even do a hot wash afterwards

Eww!

Yes not envy

Put them in a bucket with boiling hot bleach water.

The rule of thumb is always to reuse before re-buying

That is disgusting!

yes you can cheap replacements -
even John Lewis basics is £3

Just ditch the loo brush. Gross things.

I'm pretty lax on certain stuff slattern but I don't think even I'd do that, OP.

Just buy a new one, treat yourself.

Bleach is your friend here, surely?

Yes I agree about the reusing thing, as much as possible. But putting loo brushes in the dishwasher is gross and not very efficient as you would be using a huge amount of water. Bucket of hot water is a good idea!

I have no idea but I wouldn’t do it.

Tiny particles of faecal matter flowing around my dishes 🤮

I don't think I would do this personally.

Jesus christ, why????

Why would you need your loo brush to be that clean when it just gets used to clean a loo? Why would your risk contaminating your food area for it? I can't fathom what your thinking is here?!

It shouldn't be necessary. Every morning when I clean the bathroom, I put bleach down the loo and scrub round it, then leave the brush in the loo soaking while I clean the rest of the bathroom. I'm sure the bleach leaves the brush fresh and clean.

I wouldn’t. If I felt the loo brushes couldn’t be used any more I would buy new ones.

I am very lax about these sort of things and even I wouldn't!
This is the sort of thing bleach should be used for!

Gag moment. Can’t beleive you’re even considering it.

I know the thought of it makes me too, but I'm sick to death of how easily we just discard plastic.

I am NOT buying new ones ever 6 months or whatever. I don't care how cheap they are.

Any alternative suggestions? Did someone say bucket of hot water and bleach?

My dishwasher is eco friendly so uses less water than hand washing.

I do my 4 loo brushes, pots they go in, pots they stand on (it's a whole contraption) every month in the dishwasher. It's a full load, wouldn't put anything else in with them.

But not sure why the loo brush would need to be that clean anyway

I've had my loo brushes 3 years! They cost £15 each (in a sale). There's no way I'd discard plastic like that.

@ErictheGuineaPig and @MirandaWest so would you just keep the same ones forever and ever?

@Tattybear16 what do you do in your house?

These are my loo brushes - they're designed to last

Why would you buy a new one when there's nothing wrong with the one you have already from it being a bit mucky? That's a bit wasteful imo

I don't have a dishwasher so can't answer your question but I swill our bog brushes under the flush in the loo and put hot water and washing up liquid in the little holder thing. That seems to keep them clean enough (they don't have to be sparkling because they are only coaching the loo after all).

cleaning the loo I meant

Urrrgghhhhh! Don't do it op!

Even if DW temps are set to kill all bugs (and I don't think I've seen that guaranteed anywhere in the instruction booklet) why would you knowingly introduce potential e-coli /salmonella and other nefarious things in to a space in which you wash your plates and cutlery?

Why not soak them all overnight in a bucket of dilute bleach or Dettol? Or if you don't want to use chemicals, how about putting them all in a bucket, with clear industrial vinegar or some bicarb, and pour over a couple of kettles of boiling water?

What a waste of energy. Why not just soak them in bleach.

What are you doing with the brush that it's so significantly dirty after 6mo? How are you storing the brush, can it dry between uses?

I mean, by all means, knock yourself out with bleach and boiling water. But it's just going to get plonked back in the bog again, right? And you'll be back where you started.

@Sproutingcorm yes that's sounding like the best option

Absolutely not. YABU. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Bucket of boiling water with some bleach is more hygienic.

FFS. Put a splash of bleach in you loo. Use the brush to clean the loo and you've got a clean loo and a clean brush.

Yeah I'm not comfortable with something going down the loo being put in something that cleans your dishes and utensils.

It's simple really. Bleach down. Comeback five minutes later scrub and flush. By the time the brush enters the loo the bleach has already killed all the germs.

Jesus Christ. So it's not just an urban legend. 😷

Nope. As someone else has said a bucket, boiling water and some bleach.

Yes. It would OP.

Ditch the brush OP. Haven't had one for 10 years and my loos are sparkly clean.

Just leave bleach on skidders, it works. Then once a week I give them a good bleach and wipe round with some kitchen roll. Then once a month when the bathroom sponge is on it's last legs I use that to give it a really good scrub.

They're actually 3 years old, I just noticed someone on another thread saying they replaced theirs every 6m which I think is awful.

They're no dirtier than anyone else's I'm sure.
I'm just curious do people keep them forever and accept they're loo brushes and therefore acceptably grim, or does everyone just waste tons of plastic.

Lots of PP coming on all (understandably)horrified at the suggestion but not many actually saying what they do that's better.

I do almost exactly what kept says. Swill out under the flush and put some bleach in the little pot thingy. I don't understand why you would need them to be 'dishwasher clean'. They do one job and that means they will be full of germs all over again, every time you use them.

@ErictheGuineaPig yes, that's what I do now. And do you keep those brushes forever??

Yes I just accept they're grim. They're not used for anything else so it doesn't matter.

I do not use a toilet brush, a good dose of bleach works wonders.

Of course you can. People put chopping beards that have had raw chicken on. That doesn't somehow magically contaminate all else.

People are weird about loo brushes (even off Mumsnet). There was an experiment once where people were asked to lick chocolate sauce off of a brand new loo brush that they had watched being unwrapped from the packaging in front of them. Most could not do it and many were gagging.

Loads of people stick sponges and dish brushes into the dishwasher to sanitise them, which are normally vile and insanely germey.

Go for it, and good for you on the plastic waste front.

@AfterSchoolWorry it almost is, only one person has said they do it

AfterSchoolWorry

I thought it was an urban legend too.

@ErictheGuineaPig that's how I've viewed it so far

Raw chicken (which may or may not contain salmonella) is a bit different from excrement surely? .

I'm not precious about housekeeping but I can't believe what I'm reading here.

YADefinitelyNBU. What a thoroughly disgusting idea!

Please no! just use the same one and bleach it in boiling water when necessary in its own bucket. No need to throw out!

That's disgusting. We all know dishwashers still have particles of food stuff after a wash in thr machine. The thought of it being particles of shit really turns my stomach.

Boiling water and bleach and clean them, or buy new ones.

🤮

You don't need to chuck them out or stick them in your dishwasher (weirdest suggestion I've ever heard on mumsnet.) Just put strng bleach and boiling water in the brush container for a few hours.
I've had the same loo brushes for years. They are clean and white and don't smell.

"There was an experiment once where people were asked to lick chocolate sauce off of a brand new loo brush that they had watched being unwrapped from the packaging in front of them. Most could not do it and many were gagging."

It's not that weird really, the association between loo brushes, toilets and faeces is really strong.

Put a load of bleach in the toilet and stick the brush in and leave overnight. Give it a good scrub around in the loo in the morning and then continue to scrub while you flush the toilet to rinse it off. Job done. Clean brush and toilet!

IKEA do black loo brushes.
White ones end up looking gross however much you clean them

meladeso
how would you clean it if you did not have a DW ?
I can not stand the smell of bleach , so once I have cleaned the loo i put a TINY amount of Jeyes Fluid in the bowl and boiling water and stick the brush in that . Clean loo and brush .

Can't believe I've read this! Yes hugely disgusting. As PP suggested put them in a bucket of bleach and hot water.

Couldn't you sterilise them in a bucket with Milton?

BruceAndNosh,
we have black ones at work , no matter how hard you try they always seem to have bits of tissue stuck to them they are horrid .

Has anyone seen the wood and natural bristle ones recently ? before plastic brushes were around I think everyone had wooden ones didnt they ?

This is a fucking grim read on a tuesday morning

Loo brushes are gross at the best of times I just use bleach for any marks left leave for a while come back and its all gone

Fill the holder with bleach water and leave it soaking for a while.

Why do you need loo brushes to be that clean, I keep mine clean by swilling it in the flush and drenching it in cleaning product.
I wouldn’t put a loo brush in my dishwasher.

And people in here wonder why some of us won’t have a toilet brush in the house.

We keep ours fr years.
I can't believe people so easily dispose of plastic crap like that. Well, because they don't see where ot all goes of course. Terrible.
A planet full of rubbish. Awful.
I pour toilet cleaner in toilet. Wash the toilet with the brush, flush. Then rinse the toilet brush again in the clean water. Zero cases of stomach issues here.
There are more germs on a kitchen than in a toilet btw

Grim enough to have loo brushes in your carsies

But to put them in a the DW

Ugh

Is it any worse than washing a mooncup in the dishwasher?

A few people have mentioned bleach and boiling hot water, I was taught that bleach is more effective in cold water?

I have never cleaned my toilet brush as a stand-alone job.

Loo cleaning for me is:

Get rid of as much water as possible from the bowl

Loo cleaner under rim and down the sides, into the little pool of water at the bottom.

Stick loo brush in little pool of water/cleaner and leave for a bit

Come back and brush all round toilet then flush, which rinses toilet and brush.

My brush has black bristles, was about £2 from Ikea and I’ve had it 4 years. Still going strong.

I wouldn’t put it in the dishwasher because I don’t consider (a) that that would make it any cleaner, or (b) that i want to mix my eating and shitting equipment

Loo brushes are gross at the best of times I just use bleach for any marks left leave for a while come back and its all gone

Thank God someone talking a bit of sense, toilet brushes are disgusting. Why are people keeping shit sticks next to their toilet!

Ffs that’s gross.

Also why would you throw them away?

Do what planespotting says, why would anyone do any different?

However @FamilyOfAliens, am interested in what you do, how do you manage without one?

Nooooooo! Don't do it. Throw it away and buy a new loo brush.

@PhilomenaButterfly yes because you can't compare the bacteria. You don't get E coli in a mooncup for example, if you do get it, a fair amount of it then you can get a UTI
Hence the front to back wiping
Completely different. And you will wash it first.
I wouldn't do it as you just boil it for 10 minutes, but I am not buying into periods being "dirty"

Grim!

What on earth are you doing with your loo brush that it needs to be dishwashed?

It's not a stick to dislodge clods of shit from the bowl above the water line... 🤮

Don't inhale if you're putting bleach in boiling water. There are some mad people here.

When we moved into this house the only thing the sellers had left was the loo brush in the upstairs loo. I have changed the loo and fittings but am still using that loo brush.

Well, I would not put it in the DW, but I'm not sure why they need to be thrown away every 6m. I do as the PP have said, swill the loo round (I don't 'get rid of as much water as possible' - how do you do that?), pop some bleach in, scrub with the brush, flush and hold the brush under the flush. My brushes look clean, they don't look 'grim', though I wouldn't eat with them nor put them in the DW (but then, I don't need them to be 100% germ-free, since I don't eat with them....).

They're toilet brushes they're just gonna get gross again and they're only brushing the toilet nothing else so just I'd bleach them to kill germs. I don't think you have to be as extreme as putting them in the dishwasher lol.

OMG what a revolting idea. No! Just disinfect with bleach.

Put bleach in the toilet, put brush in to soak for a bit. Add hot water if you think it needs it (it probably won't).

What on earth was going through your mind when you thought about putting a clarted poo scrubber where your cutlery goes?!

I have never owned a toilet brush, the thought of them is just disgusting 😅 as with the other non owners on this thread, a bit of bleach and a quick scrub by hand when required. Sparkly toilets... Well as Sparkly as they ever will be with four children

As bleach by itself will get a toilet perfectly clean, just not as quickly, presumably it will do the same for a white plastic brush. Just leave the business end of the brush in the toilet bowl that has had the normal amount of bleach added, for an hour or three.

I think Mumsnet needs a new board called WTF

I'm now traumatised after reading this WHAT THE FUCK

or WTAF

Angie169 Tue 22-Jan-19 08:10:45
BruceAndNosh,
we have black ones at work , no matter how hard you try they always seem to have bits of tissue stuck to them they are horrid .

Has anyone seen the wood and natural bristle ones recently ? before plastic brushes were around I think everyone had wooden ones didnt they ?

This place has them: utilitygreatbritain.co.uk/category/bathroom/

I suspect it would be fine but I wouldn't do it.
Likewise I wouldn't put petfood dishes in the dishwasher either, although I know many do.

If you're hell bent on on some hot wash, why not just boil a kettle, pour into a bucket, and mix with bleach - then disinfect and clean you loo brush like that?

Dishwasher? never in a million years. I'm half minded to think this is a wind-up!

Fill your mop bucket with boiling water and disinfectant, leave the loo brush in for half an hour, that will kill off anything.

"It's not that weird really, the association between loo brushes, toilets and faeces is really strong."

Not just that-licking something off bristles is surely going to cause a gag reflex to a lot of people?

Haha, I love how passionate Mumsnet is about loo brushes.

Sorry if already suggested but why not use a non bristle toilet brush. It’s basucally a cake scraper for your loo. Just as efficient and a LOT easier to keep clean.
AMAZON - for eg. There are different types.

I just wish the UK would get with the 21st century and start installing those little jet wash things they have in Asia.

If you are putting bleach in a bucket of very hot/boiling water I hope you are doing it outside or in a very well ventilated area

Loo brushes aren't disgusting if they are used properly. You need to use the brush after flushing so the loo paper is already gone. Then use the brush and flush as many times as necessary to rinse off the brush.
Use the brush to clean the inside of the loo with whatever product you usually use to clean your loo (no need to do that every time, the brush is no dirtier than the inside of the loo).
If you are looking at e-coli, you will find they also lurk in your reusable bags, kitchen counter and any place in contact with food or faeces. As long as you don't put them in your mouth (i.e. wash your hands) you should be fine.

Jesus fucking Christ I can’t believe people would even consider this.

It'll will be fine. You can run a cleansing cycle afterwards. What a good idea! Wish I'd thought of that.