"frugal" tip: magnets from yr. elec. toothbrush

[ladelfina]

A non-frugal thing I enjoy is my Sonicare toothbrush. You're supposed to change the heads a couple times/year. I'm annoyed they couldn't design it such that you throw out less plastic, etc. and change only the true brush head.. but anyway..

I realized it's easy to pry off the two tiny black Chiclet magnets and use them for whatever you use magnets for. They're Really Strong! Besides the fridge, I have used them to hang a full-sized wrench for changing the propane tank on our stove, inside the metal compartment door (so it's always at hand), and for hanging up a "puller-outer" widget that came with our toaster oven (see above).

Waste not, want not! (fingers crossed)

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Woah good idea. We have thrown away quite a few replacements. Thanks!

 

[Moemg]

I had a Sonicare and when it finally broke I went to replace it but was swayed by the Oral B rechargeable by Braun . It doesn't really feel different than my Sonicare and the price was $19.99.

 

[Nords]

Our kid's lusted after a Sonicare ever since her orthodontist "recommended" it.

Meanwhile I've been nursing a shorted-out Braun. It uses AA batteries but I've been cycling through a baggie of crusty decade-old NiCds from my bicycle-light days, recharging them on a clunky 1980s Eveready multi-purpose charger. Every few months the Braun stops running until I rinse it with alcohol. I'm just finishing a the last brush head of a package that spouse bought in Bangkok's MBK department store a few years back when the baht was only 37 to the dollar.

Maybe it's time to step up and treat myself...

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I had periodontal problems. Switched to sonic care problem solved. It is more expensive but it beats the alternative for me.

 

[haha]

I had periodontal problems. Switched to sonic care problem solved. It is more expensive but it beats the alternative for me.

Was the prior practice a manual toothbrush, or another brand of electric like Oral B?

Ha

 

[Notmuchlonger]

It was manual. I never tried oral b. But this works and Im sticking with it.

 

[Texarkandy]

These toothbrushes are great products!

Why can't they come up with an electric car battery/recharge system as good & reliable as these seem to have have?

 

[TromboneAl]

Meanwhile I've been nursing a shorted-out Braun.

Our Braun would come on by itself in the middle of the night.

But now, it often won't run, unless you put in on and off the charger a few times, allowing it to spew toothpaste around.

 

[ERD50]

These toothbrushes are great products!

Why can't they come up with an electric car battery/recharge system as good & reliable as these seem to have have?

Our Braun would come on by itself in the middle of the night.

But now, it often won't run, unless you put in on and off the charger a few times...

That wouldn't be such a great feature for an electric car!

-ERD50

 

[ladelfina]

The batteries only really last a few years until they can't hold a charge anymore. The last model I chucked I opened up first, and it looked like there were just regular NiCd-type rechargeables inside. I had to bust it to get it open..of course you're supposed to pay for a whole new gizmo instead of just buying new batteries at 1/10th or 1/20th the cost. And of course almost everyone just throws the whole object out in the trash when it's probably better not to have all that cadmium floating around.

I might invest in a soldering iron and some duct tape when the current one dies.

 

[Gsquared]

...of course you're supposed to pay for a whole new gizmo instead of just buying new batteries at 1/10th or 1/20th the cost...

The Apple iPod business model...

 

[ladelfina]

yeah.. still kicking myself over not buying that stock.. DAMN!

 

[TromboneAl]

I might invest in a soldering iron and some duct tape when the current one dies.

That's what I did with my trimmer. Works great.

 

[nuc dentist]

A sonicare toothbrush is worth its weight in gold. In my previous life I saw amazing results in patients that routinely used them daily.

For those of you that have a Sonicare you can run a quick experiment to demonstrate to yourself how effective they are. Brush your teeth with your old style hand operated toothbrush. Run your tongue over your teeth and remember how smooth they feel. Now use the Sonicare and again run your tongue over your teeth.

Didn't do such a good job with the manual toothbrush, did you?

The teeth are clean, but you still need to floss!

 

[spncity]

Yes, but ...

Have you looked inside that Sonicare lately? The way it is designed it's easy for it to retain moisture and grow mold in there. Yuck. Talked to the dental hygienist about it and he says the top part (not the battery part) can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

Often I just take it apart at night so it can dry out.

 

[pedorrero]

I've gotten several years out of a Braun/Oral-B rechargeable (pair) of units. One trick, specific to the older Ni-Cad rechargeable batteries, is that you should periodically run them dead and then fully charge them. The absolute worst thing to do is keep it (or your cordless phone -- same technology) on the charger all the time, but what do most of us do? Devil's advocate says: Oh yeah? You've essentially done that for years, and the batteries still get weak over time. At least with the cordless, the answer (sadly) is buy a new one at Wal-mart, probably 1/2 the cost of just replacing the battery

 

[TromboneAl]

Young: Discuss fast cars and women.

Old: Discuss toothbrushes and plaque.

 

[mn54]

The one nice feature of the sonicaire is the automatic timer. You would be amazed at the number of people who spend less than two minutes brushing their teeth. The timer beeps every 30 seconds to tell you to switch quadrants.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Our kid's lusted after a Sonicare ever since her orthodontist "recommended" it.

Meanwhile I've been nursing a shorted-out Braun. It uses AA batteries but I've been cycling through a baggie of crusty decade-old NiCds from my bicycle-light days, recharging them on a clunky 1980s Eveready multi-purpose charger. Every few months the Braun stops running until I rinse it with alcohol. I'm just finishing a the last brush head of a package that spouse bought in Bangkok's MBK department store a few years back when the baht was only 37 to the dollar.

Maybe it's time to step up and treat myself...

In other news, a home in Hawaii burned to the ground today. Investigators suspect a fire started by an old battery leaking into a charger and being accelerated by alcohol which was inexplicably stored in a toothbrush handle.

 

[ERD50]

The one nice feature of the sonicaire is the automatic timer. You would be amazed at the number of people who spend less than two minutes brushing their teeth. The timer beeps every 30 seconds to tell you to switch quadrants.

Where do you draw the line between enough brushing to clean your teeth, and too much brushing eroding your gums?

-ERD50

 

[Nords]

Young: Discuss fast cars and women.
Old: Discuss toothbrushes and plaque.

Dave Barry commented a while back that these days he earnestly discusses the benefits of a high-fiber diet with the same people whom 20 years ago he used to swim with after midnight while drunk, stoned, & naked...

In other news, a home in Hawaii burned to the ground today. Investigators suspect a fire started by an old battery leaking into a charger and being accelerated by alcohol which was inexplicably stored in a toothbrush handle.

The other day spouse dropped the remote control of our early-1990s Hitachi VHS VCR, bought off Craigslist a few years back for $25. When she picked it up it was hot enough for her to drop it again. It turned out that the previous owner had a few connectivity issues in the battery compartment that he'd "fixed" with strips of aluminum foil. By the time I reported to the scene (in proper damage-control attire) one AA battery was hot enough to start leaking-- it stained the oven mitt.

So I may be cheap, but I can still do the cost-benefit analysis of flammable bargains...

 

[HFWR]

Dave Barry commented a while back that these days he earnestly discusses the benefits of a high-fiber diet with the same people whom 20 years ago he used to swim with after midnight while drunk, stoned, & naked...

Bumper sticker: Back in the 70s you did acid, now you won't eat white bread

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Where do you draw the line between enough brushing to clean your teeth, and too much brushing eroding your gums?

-ERD50

Im assuming my dentist has my best interests in mind. I don't second guess her when she tells me my teeth are great and gums are beautiful. My teeth are in her hands.

 

[Khan]

Where do you draw the line between enough brushing to clean your teeth, and too much brushing eroding your gums?

-ERD50

My electric toothbrush has a little timer that tells one when time is up; and it assumes brushing twice a day.