69: Brushes With Destiny
This is the Boie USA Fine Toothbrush, which is, apparently, fine.
Have you ever thought about your toothbrush does while you’re not looking? Like is it acting as a bug hostel of a receptacle for refuse particles? Probably! Should you put it to sleep in a little nightcap? Probably! But if not, the least you can do is clean it.
There are a couple of ways you can do it:
Soak it in mouthwash (preferably the kind with alcohol so that it can kill the bacteria) .
Douse it in vodka (seriously, it works).
Run it through the dishwasher? Maybe? A listener recommended it.
Give it a hydrogen peroxide bath.
Clean it with hot — BUT NOT BOILING — water. That’s what Andrew did and you know what? It worked ok!
We also got a very thoughtful email from listener Ewa in Poland, who gave Andrew a renewed hope for his citric acid dreams. Here’s what she had to say:
My name is Ewa and I live in Poland, where citric acid seems to be more common so I have a few tips. You can think of it as no-stink vinegar.
1. My favourite way to use citric acid is to clean my kettle from hard water residue. I just put some in the kettle, fill it with water and boil. It dissolves all the residue and is extremely satisfying. After boiling just empty it and rinse well. You can clean hard water residue from any surface with it. I use it a lot in the bathroom.
2. You can make a solution out of citric acid and use it just as vinegar for cleaning - but with no awful vinegar smell. The thing about vinegar is that it is acidic which helps dissolve a lot of stuff, citric acid is acidic as well. I prefer it over vinegar, because it doesn't stink.
3. If you bought your citric acid at a hardware store it is probably not food grade, so just keep it in mind if you want to use it for eating. It could be what is called 'technical grade', and it is not the best idea to eat it.
4. Citric acid is basically acid which you can find in lemons, so you can use it in food to add acidic flavour. In Poland it is available in small sachets in almost every grocery store, because for consumption it is used in very small quantities. You can add it to jams when you make them from fruits like peaches. That's because peaches are too sweet and pectines won't set without some acid. But my family rarely uses it for anything food related.
Best wishes,
Ewa
THANK YOU EWA! Listen to the whole pod here:
And now, a question: What’s the best way to wash produce, especially fresh produce? It’s farmer’s market and gardening season and my lettuce definitely has worm-based mulch all over it so…what do I use? Call the Spotline (508-HOW-WASH) and let me know!