The Simple Reason You Don't Need A Toilet Brush Anymore

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Scrubbing your stained and yellowing commode might not be how you pictured spending your weekend. But when it starts resembling a bacterial fiefdom more than a toilet fit for humans and starts reeking, you'll have no choice but to grab your trusty brush and clean the bowl thoroughly. And as if this back-breaking and vomit-inducing task isn't enough, you should then clean your toilet brush. Disgusting? Yes. Necessary? Also, yes. Otherwise, the lingering bacteria from the previously dirty bowl will make themselves at home along its handle and in its dense bristles. 

That's not all. The bristles are absorbent and have large enough gaps for bacteria, viruses, and other germs to hide in, and start new colonies at will. This won't just make your bathroom smell bad but also promote cross-contamination. The waste and grime stuck to the bristles will further worsen matters. Given these hygienic risks, there's no need for a toilet brush anymore. So, ditch your old toilet brush and opt for better alternatives like disposable wands and silicone scrubbers for cleaning your toilet bowl.

If you need further proof that there's no need for toilet brushes anymore, consider this: Even if you go the extra mile and deep clean one after every use — with chlorine bleach, hydrogen peroxide, or a disinfectant – slotting a wet (or even damp) brush in its holder will invite over moisture-loving bacteria, undoing all your hard work. This will lead to foul toilet odors, especially if the holder doesn't have built-in drainage holes. Over time, mold and mildew might set up shop, and your brush will go from a cleaning tool to a germ-spreading one — unless you commit to cleansing the holder, too. 

If you aren't ready to say goodbye to your regular toilet brush entirely, try its silicone variant, like the Boomjoy Toilet Brush and Holder Set. Besides looking better than the plastic-bristled ones, they are also more hygienic since germs don't readily attach themselves to the silicone bristles. This is because they're not absorbent and don't make room for fecal matter to latch onto them. As such, you won't have to spend as much time cleaning them. Bonus advantage: such brushes dry faster since they don't trap moisture in their bristles, so there's less chance of you having to deal with unpleasant odors in your bathroom. Moreover, they easily last a year, unlike their plastic-bristled counterparts that last six to eight months at best, minimizing replacement costs and putting less strain on the environment.

Alternatively, there's another Amazon toilet brush you can add to your cleaning closet: disposable toilet wands, such as the Clorox Toilet Cleaning Kit that comes with pre-loaded scrubbing pads, a long handle, and a caddy for storage. They're even more hygienic than silicone brushes since you can dispose of the scrubbing pad in a trash can after you're done cleaning your toilet bowl. Better yet, you won't have to touch the used pads; a button on the wand usually takes care of it. However, they're a more expensive option (than silicone brushes) since you'll have to keep purchasing the refills as soon as you run out. They're also less environmentally-friendly.