Toilet brush question

NovaKart · May 20, 2011

I just read this in an advice column, Dear Abby -

DEAR ABBY: My stepdaughter came and cleaned our house when my wife -- her mother -- was ill. I appreciated her efforts, until I noticed she had put the toilet brush in the dishwasher with the dishes. I quietly removed it.

Am I overreacting because I no longer want to eat at her house? This made me extremely uncomfortable because most of our family gatherings are at her house. -- TURNED OFF IN TEXAS

DEAR TURNED OFF: Ew! Had I been in your position, when I saw what she had done, I'd have hit high C. And I wouldn't have been subtle about removing the toilet brush from the dishwasher. What a gross lapse of judgment. I wouldn't want to eat at her house either, and I'd let my spouse know exactly why. (Please tell me your stepdaughter didn't learn this from her mother.)

Has anyone ever heard of someone doing this? It's the strangest thing I've heard in awhile. Will the dishwasher just make everything clean so it doesn't matter? Would you eat at this person's house?

rugbyLEAGUEfan · May 20, 2011

Potentially turd infested toilet brush > potentially turd infected dishwasher

Scratch · May 20, 2011

Other people don't clean their toilet brushes in the dishwasher? :confused:

Disgustipated · May 20, 2011

first thought is ewww.

But if you think of it, it really isn't as unclean as you think. It's just the eww factor.

First of all the toilet is pretty much clean before you clean the toilet (I would hope they flushed before cleaning it). It's basically just water in the toilet. Second of all you can get ecoli from beef too. So that's just as dirty as anything in the toilet. Any raw beef you cut could have just as dangerous bacteria on it.

Dishwashers get things pretty clean, but they only get up to about 140 max. Usually lower than that, as it's not recommended to set your hot water heater temperature that high. So it could be 120F which isn't enough to kill all bacteria. Bacteria is hopefully removed through the soap and water action on the dishes. A toilet brush, however, is unlikely to be cleaned through such mechanical action (lots of bristles etc.)

Would I eat at their house? Probably not if I could help it.

NovaKart · May 20, 2011

I thought most people used the toilet brush for residue that won't flush down, in which case ,the toilet brush does come into contact with feces.

timtofly · May 20, 2011

If that person used highly toxic chemicals to clean the toilet, I would be more worried about that than bacteria. They body can handle bacteria, but not toxic chemicals. I would probably check what they are using for dishwasher soap?

Disgustipated · May 20, 2011

Most people just use bleach or ammonia for a cleaner (hopefully not both at the same time :lol:

) All that stuff should wash down the drain in the dishwasher.

Yes I forgot to mention the cleaners used in the toilet. That will clean the brush mostly before it's even put in the dishwasher. But some of the bristles on the inside, might not be that clean.

As for residue I almost never have problem with that. I almost never have problems with diarahea where things would stick to the side. It all goes down. My toilet is clean all the time. I'd even drink out of it. Just kidding.

Lillefix · May 20, 2011

Strange, but I wouldn't mind.

Perfection · May 20, 2011

Food and feces shouldn't mix.

Zelig · May 20, 2011

NovaKart said:
I thought most people used the toilet brush for residue that won't flush down, in which case ,the toilet brush does come into contact with feces.

If your toilet has residue that won't flush down, it sucks, and you need to buy a new toilet.

Quackers · May 20, 2011

That is disgusting.

NovaKart · May 20, 2011

I'm not talking about serious feces here, just the typical poop stains that need to be brushed off.

Disgustipated · May 20, 2011

If they really wanted to clean it, they should take it in the back yard and take a hose on it. It certainly doesn't belong in the dishwasher.

NovaKart · May 20, 2011

It certainly doesn't and I can't imagine someone doing that. Maybe the woman thought it was a dish cleaning utensil and didn't realize it was the toilet brush.

Edit - in retrospect this doesn't make much sense because what would it be doing in the bathroom.

Zelig · May 20, 2011

NovaKart said:
I'm not talking about serious feces here, just the typical poop stains that need to be brushed off.

Yeah, good toilets don't get those.

Samez · May 20, 2011

I wouldn't do it because it's disgusting but I would guess it to be less harmfullt han most people would imagine. (I just want to say WHAT?!)

emzie · May 20, 2011

My dishwasher goes up to 160F so it's not as disgusting as it sounds. I still wouldn't do it.

timtofly said:
If that person used highly toxic chemicals to clean the toilet, I would be more worried about that than bacteria. They body can handle bacteria, but not toxic chemicals. I would probably check what they are using for dishwasher soap?

That was my second thought, but I think that dishwashers have rinse cycles to deal with that. Else we'd have soap residue on our dishes.

timtofly · May 20, 2011

contre said:
My dishwasher goes up to 160F so it's not as disgusting as it sounds. I still wouldn't do it.

That was my second thought, but I think that dishwashers have rinse cycles to deal with that. Else we'd have soap residue on our dishes.

I am not a chemist, but it seems to me a chemical compound would attach more than an organic one?

Holycannoli · May 20, 2011

This thread makes me queasy. Who the heck puts their toilet brush in the dishwasher?

timtofly · May 20, 2011

Holycannoli said:
This thread makes me queasy. Who the heck puts their toilet brush in the dishwasher?

To the said person, she must think that the dishwasher is the most sanatizing apparatus in the house. The disconnect comes from mixing the darks with the whites. Doing them separately may "relieve" some of the discomfort?

Toilet brush question

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