spugbrap’s blog

Ever since I read an article a year or two ago about how to get a better shave, I’ve been wanting to try out some of their tips. I believe that’s when I started shaving in the shower, which I definitely like better than trying to shave at the sink. I’ve had “shaving brush” on my Christmas, birthday, and Father’s Day wish lists, but it just never happened… until this past Christmas (2007). Lacey bought me a shaving brush and shaving cream.

I’m not brave enough or motivated enough to try a different type of razor, at this point, so I’m sticking with either my Gillette Sensor (which I’ve had since Gillette was nice enough to send me a free one for my 18th birthday; nice marketing, Gillette!) or my Schick Quattro. I prefer the Quattro, but the cartridges are more expensive so I only get them occasionally (sale + coupon is always good!). I can usually get a big pack of Sensor cartridges for a less outrageous price, although even those seem pretty darned expensive. I actually tried some generic cartridges last year, which fit Sensor razors, but the difference in quality was quite noticeable. I’ll stick with the name brands.

Anyways, I’ve used the shaving brush + shaving cream 4-5 times, now, and I’m definitely a fan. I’ve been able to get the closest shaves I’ve ever had, with no irritation, and have even been able to get more uses out of a single razor cartridge than I could when I just used regular store-bought mainstream shaving gel (i.e. chemical-rich goo).

If you’ve never tried using a good shaving cream and a badger-hair shaving brush, you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ve always hated shaving, and although the brush+cream didn’t make me actually enjoy shaving, like they have done for some people, they definitely make shaving less annoying.

I’m not sure where the article that I read a couple years ago, that first sparked my curiosity on this subject, but here are a couple that I’ve read since then:

• Deeper Motive: A Simple Guide to Shaving
• MSNBC: How to get that perfect shave

and a couple of pages with links to more shaving-related information/tips/etc.:

• SoundMoneyTips: Tips on Getting a Close Shave
• Lifehacker: Grooming: Get the best shave possible

When I see the name Clorox on a cleaning product, I automatically think “this kills germs”. Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner, and the king of all germicides: Clorox Bleach. But what about Clorox 2?

They call it “Bleach for Colors”. I’ve been using it for years, and have always kind of assumed that it’s just like bleach, only somehow without the hardcore whitening power. Sometimes, if I know that some clothes (or, more often, towels or rags) have been in a particular nasty situation, I’ll throw in some Clorox 2, thinking it might help kill germs, along with washing out whatever scary stuff is present.

After years of wondering whether it actually does have germ killing properties, like most Clorox products have, I finally looked it up. I found the answer in the Clorox 2 Bleach For Colors FAQ:

Q. Can Clorox 2® Bleach for Colors be used to disinfect clothing?

A. No. Clorox 2® Bleach for Colors is not registered as a disinfectant with the E.P.A. Of course, Clorox® Regular-Bleach can be used as a disinfectant if the fabric is safe for sodium hypochlorite bleach.

Looking at a bottle of Clorox 2, this fact is not readily apparent, as you can see from the photos below:

However, I did find the answer to my original question (”Does Clorox 2 kill germs?”) in an unexpected place (after I’d already found the answer on their official website): on the back label of a bottle of regular Clorox Bleach (see photo below).

There it is, plain as day: “This product is not an EPA-registered disinfectant.” Now why couldn’t they just put that on the actual Clorox 2 bottle? Hmpf!

As many people already know, I had braces for a second time, and just got them off about 8 months ago. Because I’ve had braces twice, and especially since one of those times was as an adult, I’ve got plenty of advice that I’m more than happy to share. A friend of mine got braces last year, and we’ve had numerous discussions about tooth/mouth pain, problems, effective care and cleaning methods, good/bad habits, etc.

I’ve posted a couple of our instant messaging conversations, before, and it seems like at least a few people have benefited from this information, so I’ve been meaning to post some more. These transcripts have been edited to keep my friend’s identity anonymous, but other than that, they contain real questions and concerns from someone else who had to get braces as an adult.

These questions/concerns are not unique–nearly everyone worries about many of these things when they get braces, which is why I think other people can benefit from reading these discussions. Do YOU have any questions, comments, or tips regarding braces? If so, please post it in the “Leave a Reply” section, below .

Now, for part 3 of this series of tips for people with braces (also check out part 1 and part 2, if you haven’t read them yet!):

• Session Start ([spugbrap]:[friend]): Wed Jan 24 08:53:07 2007
• [spugbrap]: so, used to the braces yet?
• [friend]: Hi Dave. It’s a little better but I still can’t chew anything. The general discomfort has gone away but when I chew and put pressure on teeth it is uncomfortable and it feels like other other teeth get so much pressure. This Thursday will have been a week and I am hoping after that things start to normalize a little.
• [spugbrap]: ah yes that reminds me of some times when pressure was in uncomfortable places. like my top right canine tooth would touch a bracket on the front of one of my bottom teeth, making it so i could not completely close my teeth together without feeling like i was a) putting to much pressure on the bracket, and b) going to chip that canine tooth
• [spugbrap]: that got better within a few days. or i at least adapted my eating style around it somehow.
• [spugbrap]: i also remember when i first got the braces this time, i felt like all my teeth were so loose that any time i felt too much pressure on them (especially when THEY were applying pressure at followup appointments) i felt like my teeth were just going to fall out/break/etc.
• [spugbrap]: but nothing bad has happened. i was truly afraid though.
• [friend]: Eeek. That is almost how I feel when I chew, like I am loosening them or something. But it must just feel that way and these ortho. people know what they are doing. I can’t believe how much my teeth have moved already. I always thought that the tooth movement would be so slow that I wouldn’t even notice. So far I only have them on the top because she wanted to try to get my bite aligned first before putting them on the bottom. Now, I am glad about that because that will be even worse.
• [spugbrap]: ahh yeah they do move amazingly fast at first. the phase i’m in now is kind of a perfecting/finishing touch kind of thing, so it’s been several months now of waiting for a few stubborn teeth on one side to move ever so slightly, using rubber bands (which reminds me, gotta put one on!).
• [friend]: Are you suppose to wear them all day?
• [spugbrap]: at this point, yes
• [spugbrap]: for one or two months i only had to wear them at night.. i think because i was being so “compliant” and wearing them most of the time, the teeth moved more than she’d anticipated, so she had me change the rubber band configuration and just do it at night. now i’m back to all day again. it amazes me how they know just what type of rubber band type and configuration to use, and which types of wire-holder-on-ers to use (little rubber bands on each bracket, or a “power chain”), etc.
• [spugbrap]: for a while i had to use 2 different types of rubber bands, in different shapes on each side. that was fun.
• [friend]: Oh wow, that sounds like another hassle. I know it is wild how they have this down to a science.
• [spugbrap]: like i’d have to use a thicker/heavier one on the right side and connect the hook on the back of my back top tooth to the hook on the front of my bottom 3rd tooth, then use a lighter-duty rubber band in a trapezoid formation on the front on the left side. hehe. crazy stuff. but it worked. and it only took a couple tries to get the hang of putting them on.
• [friend]: Oh wow, that is interesting. I’m assuming that it is hard/strange to talk with the rubber bands in too? The other thing I thought of is having to wear a retainer afterwards. But I heard you can get those is clear without the wire. Did you have to wear that 24×7 when you were little or I mean when you had these on the first time?
• [spugbrap]: it’s not hard to talk with rubber bands in. i mean i guess at first it was a little weird because it was pulling my mouth shut. but you get used to it, and rubber bands stretch a little bit over time (i think), so the longer you have one in, the less annoying it is..
• [spugbrap]: as far as retainers.. i will wear it/them religiously this time. i did not wear mine when i was younger. i couldn’t breathe with it in, but either they didn’t care/understand that, or i didn’t speak up enough about it.. and eventually i stopped going back for followup appointments so they couldn’t even nag me about it.
• [spugbrap]: i don’t remember how much i was supposed to wear them before (i think there were two) but i’ve always had breathing issues and one of them was just too much in the way of breathing through my mouth, somehow
• [spugbrap]: but not wearing my retainer back then is probably the #1 reason why i had to end up getting them again. and i’ll give up and go for dentures or something before i’ll get braces AGAIN. hehe
• [spugbrap]: besides, i won’t be able to afford braces a third time, either.. i’ve got 3 kids, and chances are they will all need braces at some point (particularly because both of their parents did), and that will be a lot of money right there!
• [friend]: Yeah braces are expensive and it strikes me funny how the Ortho. insurance isn’t very high because the insurance companies know that now a days that most kids will get braces. Well hopefully thought after you finish treatment and get your retainer, you will be in good shape.
• [spugbrap]: yeah it was ridiculous how they only covered like what $2k or something!? and i think i still have to pay over $5k out of pocket.. at least the ortho does monthly payment plans with no interest or anything!
• [friend]: We must have different insurance because mine paid only $1K. I paid 30% down and then monthly payment plan for the rest totaling out to $7k. It is expensive, but then again Ortho’s usually only get a patient once a lifetime, not like the dentist where you go the rest of your life, I guess they need to make their money somehow. Well good to hear more info. about your experience. Thanks for sharing. I’ll let you get back to work, but on another day I am really curious to find out from you what I should expect at my first adjustment appointment. It is not until March 1st, though. I can’t believe that 6 weeks is March already.:)
• [spugbrap]: you’re right, only $1k. i forgot.. it’s been a year and a half since i looked at that stuff, after all. :)

Recently, when taking one or more of my kids to the pediatrician, I used the bathroom, there. There was a sign above the sink, titled “Hand Hygiene”, which lists a series of bullet points for cleaning hands with alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and another list of bullets for washing hands with soap and water. What struck me as interesting, and compelled me to take a picture of the sign, was the last bullet point under the soap-and-water section: “Use dry towel to turn off the faucet”. Click the thumbnail below to see the whole sign.

To me, someone with some degree of OCD (I wash my hands too much, flush toilets with my foot, open doors with paper towels/my sleeve, etc.), this sign sounds like it’s justifying my actions. I don’t always turn off faucets with a paper towel, but when it’s a particularly grungy-looking sink, I often do.

Most of the time I use one pinky finger to turn off faucets, when possible, because I don’t like to leave the water running the whole time that I’m getting paper towels, drying my hands, then finally turning off the faucet. But if the bathroom conditions warrant it (hmm.. now that I think of it, the bathroom at work probably does, since so many people don’t bother washing their hands (or even flushing!)), I will waste the water and use a paper towel.