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Why made-up objects fail where they are glued

The part that fails is almost never the part being cleaned. It is the joint underneath, and it fails quietly, weeks later.

In detail

A great many household objects are assemblies held together with adhesive: a brush head in a handle, a trainer's upper to its sole, a mirror to its backing, a lampshade to its frame. Water reaching that joint softens or dissolves the bond, and three unrelated authorities here say so about three unrelated objects. A dermatology body: submerging a brush head will eventually dissolve the glue connecting it to the handle. A brush manufacturer: wash the brush ensuring water does not reach the wood, and do not submerge it. A footwear maker: a washing machine breaks down the glue, foam and mesh forming a shoe's internal structure. THE WORD IN THE FIRST OF THOSE IS THE IMPORTANT ONE — eventually. A soaked brush works fine that evening. The failure is cumulative, arrives long after the cleaning that caused it, and therefore never gets blamed on it, which is why the practice survives. Two consequences follow. Submersion is the wrong shape of method for any glued assembly, however dirty it is; and drying ORIENTATION matters, because a joint that has taken on water needs gravity working away from it rather than towards it. Dry the tips downward, not the handle downward.

A hairbrush in cross-section: bristle tufts holding residue at their tips, set into a cushioned pad with adhesive at each tuft hole on a wooden handle. A dashed line at the tips marks the level water must stay above, and the pad, adhesive and handle below it are labelled as the parts that fail.
A hairbrush in cross-section: bristle tufts holding residue at their tips, set into a cushioned pad with adhesive at each tuft hole on a wooden handle. A dashed line at the tips marks the level water must stay above, and the pad, adhesive and handle below it are labelled as the parts that fail.

Why

Sources for this page

Sources

  1. How to clean your makeup brushes

    American Academy of Dermatology Association · Trade or professional body

    Relied on for: That submerging the whole brush head will eventually dissolve the glue connecting the brush head to the handle, and that only the tip should be rinsed. (states this directly)

  2. Product Aftercare

    G.B. Kent & Sons plc (Kent Brushes) · Manufacturer documentation

    Relied on for: That the brush must not be submerged, that water must not reach the wood, and that it dries bristle-down. (states this directly)

  3. Can I Put Shoes in the Washing Machine?

    Altra Running (VF Corporation) · Manufacturer documentation

    Relied on for: That machine washing breaks down the glue, foam and mesh that make up the internal structure of a shoe. (states this directly)

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