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That Gunk at the bottom of the toothbrush holder
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By:ylj

Do you use a cup to hold all of your toothbrushes?  And have you noticed that after a while that yellowish, sticky gunk forms on the bottom of the cup?  I have a simple, quick and cheap solution to avoid that build up.  About once every two weeks before I shower, I check the cup to see if it is starting to build up and if it is, I take all the toothbrushes out, use a bathroom sized dixie cup filled with equal parts hot water and mouthwash and soak each toothbrush in its own cup to sterilize it.  While that is being done I fill up the cup that  I use to store all my toothbrushes about halfway with equal part hot water and mouthwash and let all of that sit while I shower.  Once I am done, I dump out the water and everything is clean - toothbrushes are sanitized which helps keep sickness from repeating and the gunk at the bottom of my toothbrush cup holder is gone.

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helenel Jul 6, 2008
1. We close the lid of the toilet every time we flush, which cuts down on the 'fecal aerosol'. Plus it trains the boys to put the seat down! 2. I just throw my toothbrush holder in the dishwasher. It's cleaned and sterilized.

ylj Jul 5, 2008
Yes I am aware of the germs that fly around in the air. The toothbrushes are faced up, meaning bristles up and not on the bottom of the cup and they are coved with toothbrush covers. It's not a very thick film of gunk and I do this every week now to clean out the bottom but thanks for the concern.

Kevin H. Jul 5, 2008
The yellow gunk sounds pretty disturbing to me. Can you imagine what's growing in there? You should consider keeping your toothbrushes in a medicine cabinet where they are not exposed to the "fecal aerosol" which is created every time you flush the toilet. Google it if you don't believe me!

Christine G. Jul 16, 2007
Thanks for the tip! I'm going to give this a try!

Theresa S. Jul 16, 2007
You may also want to try cotton rounds. I have been using cotton rounds (not cotton balls) and they fit perfectly on the bottom of the cups. I use 2-4 depending on the brand. I change them every week and I no longer have to worry about gunk. It also helps lift the kids toothbrushes above the rim - making it easier for them to grab it out of the cup.

jesmom Jul 15, 2007
I hope this really works, because that gunky stuff makes me nuts! Thanks for the tip.


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