Toilet brush
A long-handled brush used to scrub the inside of a toilet bowl.
Classification
- Mechanisms
- abrading
- Tasks
- clean
- Materials
- nylon or plastic bristle, plastic handle
- Historical materials
- natural bristle (plant or animal fiber) set in a wood or metal handle
Principles
Bristle-tuft mechanical abrasion loosens residue from a curved, hard-to-reach surface;an angled or shaped bristle head follows the bowl's curve and rim;a long handle keeps hands away from bowl water and waste.
Evolution
- 1930s
Toilet bowl brush[1]
A long-handled bristle brush, about 27 cm long. The Smithsonian credits Enesco, Inc. (via donor Homer G. Perkins) with donating this example to the museum; the original manufacturer is not recorded.
- 20th century – present
Plastic-bristle brush[2]
Nylon bristles, developed by DuPont and first sold commercially in toothbrushes in 1938, gradually displaced natural animal-hair bristle across brush types — more hygienic, cheaper to mass-produce, and resistant to the moisture damage that degraded natural bristle.
Related objects
- toilet
- dish brush
- scrub brush
- toilet plunger