Do Drill Powered Scrub Brushes Actually Work?

Drillbrush Power Scrubber was invented in 2005 by car wash owner Anthony LaPolla, and has since sparked a cleaning revolution where homeowners and DIYers can clean household surfaces faster and easier without the pain of hand scrubbing.

But despite our twenty year history, Drillbrush is still a relatively new concept, with many people having the same question on their minds;

“Does it actually work?”

It makes sense. Hand brushes have been used for thousands of years, so their track record is proven. With a newer gadget like Drillbrush, it’s natural that there’ll be some skepticism on whether using a drill to clean actually makes a difference.

So the question stands; does Drillbrush actually work? What advantages does drill-powered scrubbing have over pure elbow grease? How can I be sure that drill-powered scrubbing is right for me?

We’ll attempt to answer these questions and show why we feel confident in saying that drill-powered scrubbing is a great way to clean!

How Does Drillbrush Work?

Drillbrush attaches to your cordless drill or impact driver with its quickchange shaft.

Drillbrush works by using the power of a cordless drill to scrub surfaces.

Most Drillbrush scrubbers have a quickchange drill bit shaft that fits practically all standard cordless drills and impact drivers. Insert the bit into the chuck of the drill, secure it, and you’re ready to begin!

Activating the drill makes the brush spin, allowing it to scrub surfaces at a fast pace. The speed can depend on your drill and your settings. We recommend a drill with at least a 12 volt battery to have enough power to scrub sufficiently. Drillbrush does not sell drills, but you can read our article on drill recommendations if you’re unsure what drill to use.

All-out power is sometimes useful for heavy stains, but we often find that being moderate on the trigger can often yield a deeper clean and lessen splatter. And we typically avoid some of these purpose-built electric cleaning devices that are on the market. They often lack the power needed to clean well compared to cordless drills.

Using a cleaner with Drillbrush yields better results in most cases.

Depending on what you’re cleaning, you may need a spray bottle full of water or a cleaner to scrub effectively. Tasks like cleaning out car mats, removing grass from underneath lawnmowers, or picking up pet hair on rugs and furniture are best done dry without a cleaner.

However, household surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms, baked-on stains that need to be broken down, or any surface that requires some disinfecting will be best served with a cleaner. Drillbrush makes several cleaning solutions, some bundled with our brushes, but Drillbrush works with most popular household cleaning solutions. You can read our blog on cleaners we recommend if you want some ideas.]

How Are Drill-Powered Brushes Better Than Hand Scrubbing?

Drillbrush is faster, easier, and more fun than traditional hand scrubbing.

Drillbrush has a lot of advantages over traditional hand scrubbing, but we feel it can be boiled down to three key reasons why drill-powered scrubbing is the go-to for so many customers.

Less Strain

Hand scrubbing is strenuous, and Drillbrush alleviates it by replacing tiresome elbow grease with the press of a trigger. Some may consider gadgets like this to be “lazy,” but consider the following;

Many Drillbrush customers are older or disabled individuals who often lack the ability to vigorously scrub surfaces by hand. Drillbrush inventor Anthony LaPolla, himself disabled due to severe arthritis, came up with the initial concept of Drillbrush to help him scrub car wheels in spite of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Using a power drill to clean puts less stress on your body, saving your strength and stamina for other more pressing tasks around the house.

Faster Scrubbing

A big appeal of drill-powered cleaning is how fast it is! Using a machine to clean allows users to finish the job faster and move on to other things.

A great example is cleaning tile grout in a bathroom. If you’re scrubbing by hand, it can take ages to get between every last tile, meticulously checking to see if you missed a spot. With a Drillbrush, simply use an Edge brush or a flat brush at a 45 degree angle to quickly clean down each line.

A popular video of ours shows the difference between hand scrubbing and Drillbrush on a carpet. To keep up with the Drillbrush, the person hand scrubbing has to work double time like a modern day John Henry. But unlike the steel driving man, they were unable to beat the drill and left behind enough dirt and debris for the Drillbrush to clean both sides.

That’s one happy Drillbrush user!

More Fun

Honestly, using a drill to clean stuff is pretty cool.

Most people who buy cordless drills and other handy power tools want an excuse to use them, not just have them sit on a shelf collecting dust!

We’ve received plenty of awesome reviews that detail how much fun people have with Drillbrush. Some say they feel like Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor from Home Improvement. Some men say it got them to clean around the house more, much to their wives’ joy. We even have accounts of pets liking the Drillbrush!

I don’t know about you, but very rarely does the thought of cleaning the entire house by hand give us that rush of dopamine.

With Drillbrush? Now we’re talking!

How To Know If Drill-Powered Brushes Are Right for You?

Drillbrush makes cleaning easier for everyone!

At Drillbrush, we feel that most people can handle drill-powered cleaning. Many of our customers were people who had very little experience operating a cordless drill in the past, so you don’t need to be a pro to pick up a drill.

Owning a Cordless Drill

The only barrier to entry for Drillbrush is owning a cordless drill.

Twenty years ago this would have been more of an issue for new Drillbrush users as drill ownership rates were lower back then, but according to this study, the vast majority of Americans own power tools these days.

But if you are among those who do not own a cordless drill and don’t foresee owning one, then unfortunately you’re stuck with hand scrubbing.

Drillbrush does not sell cordless drills or standalone machines built to use our brushes, just the brushes and accessories, but we do have recommendations for those new to power tools that you can brush up on.

Reading Reviews

Seeing other people’s experiences with drill-powered scrubbing can help gauge whether you’d like to give Drillbrush a try.

Overall, we find most people are happy with their brushes and like the time saved and alleviated effort that comes with using a drill instead of your hands.

Not every brush on the market has positive ratings, but Drillbrush-brand products are high quality and have the ratings to back it up. We’re pretty proud of the over 100,000 reviews we’ve received on Amazon and the many tales of satisfied drill-wielding cleaners that have been told over the years.

Seeing it in Action

There’s a lot of drill-powered brush content online these days, so you can see what drill-powered scrubbing can do with your own eyes.

You can check out our Youtube channel to see original, in-house videos of our brushes in action, as well as in depth tutorials and guides for getting the most out of your brushes.

You can also check out our awards and publications page, which includes links to trusted media outlets and independent reviewers who tried out our brushes, including a few like Fox and Friends, Drew Barrymore, and Rachael Ray that demoed the product on their shows.

Trying it For Yourself

When Drillbrush was new, it was hard for prospective retailers to imagine what using a drill to clean would be like. The best way, we found, was to have them try it for themselves! A common feature at our trade show booths was a slab of tile with a Drillbrush in a drill that people could try out right then and there. Most only had to use it for a few seconds before they were sold!

For those who don’t have the luxury of trying out an in-person demo, Drillbrush has a no questions asked return policy, so if you want to try out our brushes, you can always pick one up and give it a whirl. If it’s not to your liking, just send it back!

Does Drillbrush Really Work?

Short answer; yes.

Drill-powered cleaning is fast, easy, and more fun than stressful hand scrubbing and that’s backed up by the millions of satisfied Drillbrush customers and reviews. So pick up a drill, a Drillbrush, and your cleaner of choice and start cleaning with comfort!

Liked what Drillbrush has to offer? Check out our store and find the right brush or kit for you! Want to learn more about Drillbrush? Check out the many articles on Drillbrush products, history, and tutorials on our Drillbrush Power Blog.