Thread: Risks involved when dealing with used shaving gear?

Anyone here know about this? What's the risk for blood-related infections when using a used razor for example?

Not working in the medical field I don't qualify as one to provide a learned opinion on it. However, a toothbrush with soap and water seems to work fine for me.

If you seaarch for 'sterilizing' or 'barbicide' you will find several threads where this has been discussed before. That should give you a lot of info quickly.

Blood borne diseases don't survive outside for more than 2 weeks.
So if the shaving gear hasn'e been used in a while, you just need to make sure it is clean. Follow up with the desinfectant of your choice and you should be good to go.

Hello... First of all, you know that straight razor is made of steel... This type of environment is quite bacteria and viruses non-friendly...
For viruses, I think that most resistant is Hepatitis virus which can survive up to 12 days or so outside the human body in heat friendly environment, HIV is dead for 45 minutes... Viruses are parasites and they require body heat and cell environment to survive so they die in few hours...
For bacteria it depends on species... Some would die in few hours and some could last for centuries (like those found in egyptian pyramids)...
And there is rust, which could infect your blood (tetanus) if you cut yourself on rusty blade...
Don't panic...
If it's an old, used and little rusty razor, you'll probably sand it... This will take rust off and some viruses and bacteria off, since you're scraping the surface... You'll probably use some kind of progression in sanding and the v&b will progressively go off too...
Next step after sanding is polishing... Ammonia and some acids in polishing compounds will kill v&b that left after sanding...
And there is honing, which will remove all v&b from edge...
If you're still unsure, dip your blade in heated alcohol (above 65°C) and in boiling water... That should do the trick...
Or go to your local pharmacy and buy some disinfection fluid (explain the pharmacist what you need it for)...
Disinfection fluid used for disinfecting skin when donating blood is the ultimate disinfector because it is a mixture specially designed to momentarily kill every virus & bacteria that it touches...

To sum up, risk of blood-related infections is very, very, very small if you did use some kind of disinfection procedure in getting your razor shave ready...
Hope this helps...

About the only thing I can think of which might stick around could be Anthrax spores. Unless killed they can last just about forever. I know all my used razors get treated with metal cleaner which contains ammonia and some other pretty powerful chemicals not to mention antiseptic soap and honing.

Nice, it was as I thought, but it's still good to get confirmation.

Most MDs that I have heard from have said to throw them in vat of boiling water.

In any way, you will do better in sterilizing your razors (at least use boiling water on the blade and a disinfecting solution)

The main risk is not, as many usually think, HIV, but HCV (hepatitis C virus); the Hepatitis needs less amount of virus to infect somebody, and is quite resistant. For instance, it is well know among the tattooers, that dyes, stylets and piercing instruments can transmit HCV-infected blood from one person to another quite easily if a proper sterilization techniques is not followed (you need to be careful with Hepatitis' symptoms if you have a tattoo made before the mid 1980s - the C virus was discovered in 1987)

The Center for Disease Control issued a warning about these razors:






Please PM me for an address to send the contaminated razors for quarantine...

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Please PM me for an address to send the contaminated razors for quarantine...

I don't know what you are talking about... I never saw those razors... I have no recollection of ever seeing them - and, btw, you will not be able to find one whiskers who will testify against me I have silenced all the witnesses and washed all the proofs away.

You rock Seraphim!