In my youth, the brush used to scrub the toilet could be found in the closet with the other cleaning supplies. I used it once a week. Of course, I cleaned the toilet. I was the only one without asthma, polio, or cancer. Well, now that I have MS, I feel that’s a “Get Out of Toilets Free” card. My toilet scrubbing has gone down to … hmmm … twice a year.
Now, some might think I’m nasty for not scrubbing my toilet weekly. I beg you to remember I only move my bowels once a week. I poop in dog years, so I shouldn’t have to scrub on a regular schedule. Gary flushes the toilet over ten times per visit. The continued erosion from water is very powerful. I present to you the Colorado River and Grand Canyon.
However, Gary has noticed some mold growing in the bowl, and it concerns him. I told him where the toilet brush hangs in the laundry room. He scrubs far more often than I do. However, he would prefer a toilet brush that stands in the bathroom.
I’ve seen the brushes in the plastic containers with the sanitiser fluid. Geh. I said ewwwww, gas station bathrooms have that. Not going to find that in the Four Seasons. The gas station scrub-brush does not say to me “Sanitised for your protection,” it says “We know YOU are a sloppy pooper. You leave brown streaks. We don’t want you to leave a wad of un-flushed toilet paper in the bowl. We all know what you’re hiding.”
But, let she who has not cleaned shut up about the supplies. (And no S______ would put Ti-D-Bowl in a toilet with a dog in the house.) So, off to Bed Bath and Beyond.
We both agreed that seeing the brush and fluid is disgusting.
“In many cultures it is considered impolite to clean away biological debris without the use of chemical toilet cleaning products, as this can potentially leave residue on the bristles. By contrast, others consider it impolite not to clean away biological debris immediately using the toilet brush.” – Wikipedia
Then Gary became enchanted with this cat-shaped toilet brush holder. It wraps your “biological debris” in a cunning disguise! Everyone puts long-neck cat sculptures next to the toilet.
My apologies to anyone with this cat sitting next to their toilet. Gary felt it was elegant. It was better than his other early choice, a squat brown irregular blob. Because that’s what I want sitting by my toilet.
(There is also a toilet brush holder on the internet that looks like a teeny tiny toilet. It did make me smile.)
I eventually convinced him that cat was an abomination. Instead, the medical bathroom now has the toilet brush hidden in a container marked “Brush.” “Poop Remnant Brush” would have been better.
Of course, I know the entire conflict is my fault because I don’t scrub the toilet every week. Then again, maybe Gary wants to scrub daily. What are your views on the brush in the bathroom and biological debris?
16 responses to “Toilet Brush”
My feelings: it’s not a poop brush, it’s a mold brush. In this apartment, we get a funky pink & black mold combo that grows practically overnight.
I scrub the toilet daily (ideally) to every few days (realistically); I’m allergic to mold and I certainly don’t want it near my delicate bits.
The brush stays by the toilet AND THERE IS NO SHAME IN THAT.
Or maybe our friends think we’re revolting. I don’t know. I don’t much care, because the brush will remain there.
Our brush is by the toilet in a plain white plastic container that I spent less than 1 minute selecting from the toilet brush aisle in whatever store I happened to be shopping in.
The urge to clean the toilet presents itself rarely and must be acted upon quickly or it will pass, not to return for quite some time. The tools of the trade must be at hand, not across the house.
Elsa – Well there is no shame then. I am convinced. Is it a concealed brush> In a cat? Still, TOILET CAT IZ IN UR TOILET HIDIN UR BIOLOGICAL DEBRIS. Caroline – Well, I can say Gary has scrubbed the toilet twice. By the way, am I wrong about the sanitizing liquid?
I’m with Elsa in the “it’s there and no apologies” camp. Moreover, Caroline made me realize exactly why it must be there – in the fleeting seconds that I am moved to clean the funkadelic scum off of the bowl, it must be close at hand. My desire to clean is a fickle and infrequent visitor.
I am a “once every two weeks” scrubber, purely for mould reasons (we live in the Florida- if there is standing water, there is mould no matter what you put in the water). I’ll admit to a laissez-fair attitude of just propping the brush in the corner near the toilet- I never considered that it might offend. Of course, no one has ever complained, so either they are silently screaming but are too well-bred to mention our faux pas or our friends are just as blasé about such things as we are.
i have a closet in my bathroom. and a cleaning lady.
I have a rubbed bronze brush holder to go with my rubbed bronze everything else, but no liquid in there.
And a cleaning lady.
But no, it never occurred to me that toilet brushes the bathroom should skeeve me. Toilet brushes in rooms that don’t have toilets would.
> Is it a concealed brush?
Ours is a small brush (originally intended for dish scrubbing, but I bought it for the toilet) popped into an old opaque stoneware cylinder.
No cleaning fluid, no nothing. I just scrub the mold out with fresh water and a spray of tea tree oil (and once in a great while, a splash of bleach), which I assume also disinfects the brush — or not, whatever.
Wait wait wait…do you hang the brush upside down after you use it for the cat holder? Or was that just so we could see the brush with the cat? Wth?
And apparently I can’t spell my name. *awesome*
Mare – that desire to clean off the mold? I don’t have it. Gary does, though, and the times I’ve vomited I get a close up of whats under the rim. That scares me.Elisabeth – well, there’s the other issue – nothing can be propped in the corner because that’s where Mac goes if we are taking a shower. That was what killed the cat sculpture: Mac would’ve broken it.Magpie – That’s how it should be done. I couold get behind a closet in the bathroom to store the supplies. As long as they are within “reach.”Tami – Hm. Again with the cleaning lady. Elsa – Damn. Tea-tree oil? You bits are lucky. Scotie Dawg- Genius. You have to push a button on the handle to have the disposable part drop off, though, don’t you? Autummmnnnumnum – The bristles go into the butt of the cat, the handle goes into the neck. The brush was out so Gary could prove it was actually a toilet brush, not an elegant sculpture.
I love these types of things, I like throwing away the various biological debris. Whoo!
Plus, DO YOU KNOW WHAT’S ON THAT THING? I want it next to the toilet, where it’s eminently clear what its ONE AND ONLY PURPOSE IS, not near my pretty towels or whatnot where it might touch stuff.
Gaoo – But, should there be anything on that thing? Even mold? And think, if it’s standing in a container, what types of mold are you growing by putting it in a mold incubator?
This pic (http://work.failblog.org/2011/07/25/job-fails-helpful-advice/) made me think of this post. 🙂
Wyo – Ha! That is hilarious!