Sonicare users - gross, help me out here

[Twoboos]

So, we all got Sonicare toothbrushes for Christmas. DH & I got the Essence. DDs got the kid ones.

I just got around to changing the brush heads. DDs were fine. But ours.... OMG. Ew. Gross. Disgusting. The inside of mine was filled with black mold spores. The inside of DH's was filled with black gunk I had to pour out. (He is a notoriously bad toothbrush rinser.) I went to town with vinegar, q-tips, toothpicks, hot water and an old facecloth.

W-T-H, is this NORMAL?? Should I go back with bleach and soak the whole thing? Is this why DH and I have been feeling so exhausted and rundown lately??

Apparently it's a known problem, as someone invented this:
http://www.thesonicseal.com/links.htm (Check out the "Dirty Pictures," DH's was 10x worse than anything there!)

[flashy09]

Ahhhh! I have one and now am scared to look!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Yep, we discovered that with ds1's Sonicare. So gross!!!

[Twoboos]

I'm starting to see this is totally normal. I CANNOT believe Phillips just keeps selling this and people aren't going crazy over it!!

http://www.amazon.com/review/R20F5DWUTR4DT5

[candaceb]

Yes, I think it's normal if it doesn't get cleaned. You're supposed to clean it once a week. For me it's more like once a month, realistically. I use a q-tip to get in all the edges, and let the whole thing dry out overnight.
I've never had black mold in it, but I've definitely had grayish slimey stuff.

[nfowife]

Yes, it's a known design flaw. Gross, huh? Mine just died last week after 11+ years of use. I did use the sonic seal and it fixed the issue but yeah it's annoying! I replaced it with the next model up that has a different head design.

[anamika]

I noticed that some time back and was grossed out too. I cleaned it out with vinegar and always take the head off the handle now. I haven't seen it since then.

[Katigre]

Ours has done that for the past 5+ years we've had it. It's mildew, not toxic black mold. It cleans out pretty easily but I don't stress if there's a bit left inside. It shouldn't affect your health anymore than mildew in the shower does - it's just what happens when there is moisture regularly in an enclosed space. I'm really mold sensitive and it has never bothered my allergies (and it's nowhere near the toothbrush area and is enclosed in the handle/attachment-of-head area so it's not coming into contact with your mouth).

[kijip]

My old sonicare did not have this issue, but I did clean it. My brother has the newer design and Lordy is it ever grody. I needed a water pic and was too cheap to pay for a new sonicare and a water pic so I am back to using a regular brush.

[lhafer]

Yep, I have an original and it gets gross. I just use the old toothbrush head to clean it with hot water and then put a new head on it.

[sweetsue98]

I have the flex and to avoid the mold problem I remove the head and clean it daily

[stinkyfeet]

I have the flex and to avoid the mold problem I remove the head and clean it daily

I do the same thing. I would rinse/scrub it in a diluted bleach solution.

[Nechums]

I just bought ourselves two of the Essence model as an upgrade from our Spinbrushes. Now, I'm nervous. I hate committing to constant maintenance.

[pastrygirl]

I have an Oral-B, and it does get gross. We change the brush heads every three months, so it's not too bad.

[Mommy_Mea]

It is super nasty, but we remove the head every day and rinse it out, and do a more in depth cleaning about 1x/week (okay, maybe about 1x/month, it was more often pre-kids!)

[wellyes]

Take the head off daily. I stick mine in the uv cleaner that some models have.

[Jenny_A]

We throw ours in the dishwasher every few weeks. Just unscrew the head and you can put both pieces in the dishwasher.

[infomama]

This is one of the reasons we switched to Oral B electric brushes.

[TwoBees]

Yes, it's gross. The newer models have a different head which greatly reduces the problem. But they still have to be cleaned periodically.

[hellokitty]

Yes, it's gross isn't it? I have an oral b (but had a sonicare before with the same issue) now and it also has the same issue. Look underneath it too (where it sits to charge), it's pretty gross.

[secchick]

When we awitched to the e series from our old ones, where we didn't have this problem, we got these silicone head covers

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sonic-Seal-E-Series-Replacement/dp/B001S2PLNK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336399920&sr=8-1

It totally keeps out any moisture, and only makes it take 5 minutes or so to change the head when necessary, the first time is a little tricky, but we have used the same ones for 2+ years now. It may not let the brush vibrate quite as much, but my teeth feel the same and there weren't any changes in my dentist checkup.

[wendibird22]

Gross. We have an Oral B that's ~8yr old and it doesn't do that. But, it also is an older model (clearly) that came with a stand that has a brush head holder. The brushes get stored there in between uses and I think this helps them dry out and keep the gunk from building up. I was thinking about replacing it but now I'm going to keep using it until that thing dies!

[karstmama]

i really try to keep the handle end higher than my mouth while i brush so spit can't get into that area & it seems to help. i give it a good clean when i change the head, but it's nowhere near as bad when i pay some attention to how i'm holding it.

[HIU8]

I have an oral B. DH and I share it, so we take our toothbrush heads off after we are done and wash it and dry it. Before I had one of my own (it died). I noticed that if you keep the head on it does get really gross.

[AnnieW625]

I have had this style Sonicare for the past 10 yrs. It has never been much of an issue for us because DH and I have always shared a unit (started that way when we were dating, and now we only have two electrical outlets in our single bathroom) so we take the heads off each time we use it so we clean it out when it gets a little nasty.

I like the design of the Sonicare Kids brush and this doesn't seem to be an issue with that unit; when our current Sonicare dies we'll probably replace it with the newer style unit too since those are more reasonably priced now than they were about 4 yrs. ago when we bought our last unit.