sleepydoglabs Bathtub Cleaning Drill Brush Bathtub Cleaning Drill Brush

Wouldn't you rather let your drill do your scrubbing for you? Wouldn't you rather let your drill do your scrubbing for you? I was looking for an easy way to clean my tub, and as Bradley Rhodes (aka DocBug) says; “"If it's worth doing, it's worth doing with power tools". Thus my need for a drill brush was born. Now, I don’t claim to have invented the drill brush, in fact I could have sworn I’ve seen a nice nylon bristled brush at HomeDepot, but never purchased it due to the price (I am, after all, a cheep bastard). So I thought I could build my own and wanted to pass along some construction advice. Materials Round Brush with nylon bristles – Nylon bristles are very important if you’ll be cleaning tub and tile, or else you’ll scratch the glaze. I found this brush at the local supermarket for under $4. It’s used for cleaning dishes and has a reservoir for holding dish soap. The handy thing about this particular brush is that it has a hole thru the center that we will use as a starting point.

4 ½” bolt, ¼” diameter

4 ½” bolt, ¼” diameter Two nuts

Superglue Tools Pliers, two pair

Hacksaw

Drill and Drill Bit– you better have a drill if you’re going to make this, right?

Round file Construction Pull off the rubber cap and remove the plunger and spring. Drill and/or file the center hole open JUST large enough to allow you to begin threading the bolt into the soft plastic. It is important that you don’t make the hole too large. Use the bolt to cut threads into the soft plastic. Hold the head of the bolt with your pliers and screw the bolt into the hole. Stop before you reach the other side. You don’t want ANY of the steel bolt poking thru the business end of your brush. (see scratch warning above) Once you’ve tapped threads into the center hole, you’ll need to attach the locking nuts. The point of all this is to prevent the brush from spinning and to keep the bolt from trying to screw itself out the bottom of your brush (which will scratch your tile).

Once you’ve tapped threads into the center hole, you’ll need to attach the locking nuts. The point of all this is to prevent the brush from spinning and to keep the bolt from trying to screw itself out the bottom of your brush (which will scratch your tile). Back the bolt out of your brush and screw the two nuts onto the bolt. The nuts should not be touching and the first nut should be ¼” or less from the end of the bolt.. You’ll use the first nut to measure the depth the bolt will travel into the drilled hole. Screw the bolt with nuts into the brush, as the bolt enters the brush it will spin the first nut back to the depth you want. Back the bolt out of the brush again. The distance between the end of the bolt and the first nut should be equal to the depth the bolt should travel through the brush. Again, we do not want ANY of the bolt to poke thru the bristle end of the brush. Without moving the first nut, tighten the second nut down on the first. Use two pliers to tighten them firmly, “locking” them together Once you are certain the nuts are at the correct depth, add a few drops of superglue to the threads on the end of the bolt. Screw the bolt back into the brush for the final time. Cut the head of the bolt off with the hacksaw. For a little added stability I drilled a hole in the rubber cap and put it back on the brush. Tighten it up in your drill chuck and you are ready to clean.