How to Clean Electric Toothbrush?

As a good health practice, being a health-conscious individual, you pay particular attention to your teeth and gum. You expect your teeth to appear cleaner, whiter, and plaque-free mainly. On the other hand, although it is not visible to the naked eye when you brush your teeth, a considerable amount of bacteria are removed from your mouth. The chances for those bacterial bodies to remain in the brush until you use it back are very high.

Bacteria in your electric toothbrush

The moisture available in the brush head would create an ideal living condition for bacteria. Bacteria not only remain but will overgrow on your brush with a friendly environment. When you use the same brush back to CLEAN your teeth after a considerable time, you put those bacteria (and some more, of course) back in your mouth unknowingly. So, it is clear that you should clean not only your teeth; the toothbrush also has to be cleaned.

Steps to clean electric toothbrush

Unlike standard manual toothbrushes, cleaning an electric toothbrush may need some special requirements. Let’s see how to clean an electric toothbrush with proper precautions. When you are thinking of cleaning an electric toothbrush, you should understand that there are mainly two crucial parts to be cleaned. They are the toothbrush head and the electronic handle. Keeping both the parts clean is essential equally.

It is recommended to soak your brush head in a hydrogen peroxide solution (03% in 97% water) at least once a week to prevent excessive growth of bacteria. Hydrogen peroxide is not expensive at all, and you can find it easily in any pharmacy or a retail grocery.

First, pour some fresh hydrogen peroxide into a full-mouthed plastic container and soak the brush head in the box at least for good five minutes. Then take out the brush head and rinse it thoroughly to remove the taste of hydrogen peroxide. Then flick off the moisture remaining.

Then, leave it to dry thoroughly in the air, without being touched by any other brushes or devices. You don’t have to worry about pouring down the remaining hydrogen peroxide down the drain as it will break down into water and oxygen, which are not considered as pollutants.

Make sure to refill the plastic container for every use as hydrogen peroxide subjects to break down rapidly after exposure to light. When you are sick, the situation is a little bit different. In that case, you may have to carry out the cleaning process after every use.

Any other alternative?

Instead of hydrogen peroxide, you can use a bleach solution (1:10 bleach water ratio). Still, you would have to soak the device for a more extended period (30 minutes or so). Cleaning the handle is different than cleaning the brush head as it is an electrical appliance. The handle shouldn’t be dipped in the solution.

You may use a piece of clothing dampen with either of the solutions we already know and thoroughly wipe out the handle. Use a moistened cotton swab and wipe the attaching area of the handle exceptionally well to eliminate any remaining bacterial bodies and allow it to air dry properly. This process will assure minimal exposure to harmful bacteria and longer life to the equipment you use.