Leaking Oral B toothbrush!

wilroda

Hi
Firstly apologies if this has been posted in the wrong place, I am having trouble posting in the health and beauty etc section!

I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their Oral B toothbrush.

Ours is about a year old now and has started to " leak" grey fluid !!
That is, the barrel gets wet when you use it and supsequently the water turns grey.....seen most when you shake the brush dry after using it. I am sure this isnt safe to use and have reverted to " manual" brush.

Has anyone else had similar problems?

silvercar

How often do you take it apart and clean it? The head part should detach so you can clean the inside and dry it properly. If you've never openned it up, you probably have a build up of manky water which is now overflowing the cavity inside.

MX5huggy

Why would it not be safe to use?

xmaslolly76

Agree totally with silver you would be amazed at what builds up inside the things its pretty gross. If you go to poundland and get some interdental brushes they are tiny little things that fit between your teeth ive found they are very effective at getting inside the head of the brush and getting all the stubborn gunk out that builds up. Other wise fill your sink with warm water and just drop the head in for a couple of hrs to soak then rinse out and place back on the brush. The shaft that the head fits on to can get discoloured as well but a wipe over with a roughish cloth (something like the white dish clothes) will bring that back up like new :-)

BallandChain

Have you changed the brush head at all?

wilroda

Hi and thanks for the advice.

I take the head off regularly and clean and dry it. In fact I have just replaced the head because I thought it would make a difference.

The water from brushing your teeth obviously does get inside the head but it seems to be going elsewhere....?? inside the handle - and coming out grey.....

jrrowleyws

Is it coming out below the brush head, or out the base itself? If its coming out the base then you can take the base off and have a look (look for how to remove the battery in the manual), I'd say if its coming out the base then its not a great sign.

How old is the brush?

ukjoel

Mine did that and shortly afterwards gave up the ghost.

Maybe its just me but I have had two of these go within a few months of the warranty running out.

I thought the grey stuff was hard water buildup as it looked slightly calcified. I never bothered trying to get rid of it as that part of the unit never went near my mouth.

From what I remember the problem was when it got into the bottom of the unit (the bit which connects with the charger.) That reduced the connectivity until one day it just refuses to charge up.

Only suggestion I can offer is to DRY the bottom of the toothbrush before putting it away. ie the bit that you hold in your hand but not the brush end.

My mrs does that and hers is now 3 years old. She says if I was responsible enough to look after mine I would still have it .

esmerelda98

Did you keep the receipt? I know it's unlikely you did, but it would help you claim on the two year guarantee.

wilroda

Hi Again. Just a bit of an update along with some praise for Oral b/Braun/Proctor and Gamble.

I tried all your tips with regards to the grey water leaking out of the toothbrush but with no avail.

As the brush was only six months old I found a website for oral B and emailed them.

They promptly emailed back with instructions to send the brush handle back - freepost....along with all receipts etc. Luckily I keep receipts and even the boxes these things come in!

Posted on Monday - replacement upgraded brush arrived Friday! I am very impressed with the service I received.

They didnt explain what the problem was however, but clearly water was getting into the handle somehow.

Hope this helps someone in the future

dizziblonde

The ikky grey water is the reason I gave up on my electric toothbrush - it was too manky for words (Colgate make) and was just ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.