What’s the Difference Between Each Drillbrush Color?

With great variety comes great choice. When you look upon the vast expanse of Drillbrush products and kits for the first time, it can be intimidating to say the least.

“What brushes do I get?” “What does each brush do?” “What do all those colors mean?” These are a few questions a drill brush novice may have. But fear not! We’ll answer all of these questions by going through every color and every stiffness we currently offer.

What Drillbrush is Made Of

Our daily fiber intake is pretty high!

Before we go into how stiff our bristles are, we should first mention what our bristles are made of.

All of our brushes use non-scratch nylon bristles, meaning they're safe to use on most surfaces. While the bristles themselves aren’t a problem, they should not be used on surfaces where dirt particles can cause scratches (such as car paint.)

The dye used on the bristles does not come off, and as stated in our site’s FAQ, any pigmentation seen is small particles of the bristle that were worn off. These can be easily wiped away and do not stain surfaces. In addition, the bristles are food safe, meaning they’re fine to use around kitchens and prep areas.

Soft Brushes

Soft service!

We start with our softest grade, designated by the color white. These bristles flex easily and are somewhat soft to the touch. It is the most second-most gentle product in the line after our bristleless cotton buffer.

Soft brushes are very versatile and can be used all around the house. It is our go-to brush for cleaning wooden furniture, such as tables, chairs, and cabinets, as well as glass fixtures like windows and mirrors.

It is also the brush we use on cloth surfaces. Not only can it handle rugs, upholstered furniture, and curtains, but with proper control, it’s gentle enough to clean across embroidery and stitching with no issues.

We never get tired of shots like these.

However, the major use for white brushes is automotive cleaning. While as stated above, you should not use Drillbrush on car paint, it can tackle anything else around the car. White Original brushes can easily get into rims and around tires, the flat brushes can clean windshields, headlights, and seats, and the 2 inch detail brushes can hit stray stains that crop up on the back seat.

While these brushes are soft, they go hard when cleaning around the house!

Medium Brushes

A brush so nice, we’ve colored it thrice!

Second on our color chart (as well as third and fourth) are the Medium brushes. These bristles are stiff enough to handle most messes, but are more flexible than their stiffer counterparts. This makes them exceptionally versatile and gives them a wide range of uses.

They are available in Yellow, Green, and Blue for bathroom, kitchen, and marine / pool / outdoor usage respectively. However, this gives rise to one of the most asked questions by consumers; 

“Is there a difference between the three medium brushes?”

No, all three brushes are interchangeable, but there is a reason we divy up tasks between them.

Because the Medium brushes have such a wide range of cleaning abilities, you run the risk of cross contamination. If you use a Medium brush to clean around the bathroom, you don’t want to use the same brush to clean your kitchen counter. Same if you clean a kayak and then turn around to clean your fridge. 

To avoid accidentally “double dipping” with the brushes, we’ve divided their use cases by color to help customers easily distinguish between them. This keeps your brushes organized and your cleaning sanitary.

So you most certainly can use a green brush behind the toilet if you want. Just make sure you remember not to use it on your cutting boards. 

But without further ado, let’s get into what these brushes can clean for each application.

Bringing beauty to the bathroom!

Nearly everything in the bathroom is within the purview of the Yellow Mediums, from tubs and showers to tiles and grout lines.

Bullet-shaped Original and Mini brushes can get around the curves of a sink, the complex porcelain work behind and around the base of the toilet, and the rims of drains and faucets.

Meanwhile, flat brushes can (naturally) handle any flat surface, such as the walls of the shower, the floor of the tub, and any spots on the floor.

And for tight, thin spots like grout lines and shower door tracks, a yellow edge brush can do the job right!

All this and the kitchen sink!

Just like the bathroom, Medium Green brushes excel at nearly everything in their niche. 

You can clean stovetops, countertops, cupboards, cutting boards, and linoleum tile with ease using the flat brushes, while the corner brushes are great for cleaning inside the fridge, microwave, and sink, as well as along the backsplash. 

Deep blue brushes for the deep blue sea!

Due to its blue color, the Blue Mediums are marked for use with marine vessels and pools, but they can handle other miscellaneous tasks as well.

On the water, the flat 4 inch and 5 inch brushes are great for cleaning the hulls on boats and the bullet-shaped brushes glide easily across the outside of recreational craft, such as kayaks, canoes, and jetskis. 

For aquatic fun close to home, they are handy at cleaning kiddie pools and pool lining after a long summer.

Along with it’s maritime activities, medium blue brushes also work well for certain outdoor tasks, like door mats, boot trays, and light siding and vinyl furniture cleaning.

Stiff Brushes

Speak softly and carry a stiff brush!

Speaking of the great outdoors, our Red Stiff brushes are designated for more difficult cleaning tasks, typically outside the home. These bristles are tougher than the Mediums, but still have a little flex to them.

Outdoor chores are the name of the game for the Stiff brushes. Gutters can be cleaned out with the Red Original and a Mini can be used on the slats in shutters.

Siding, vinyl patio furniture, decks, and outdoor fixtures like bird baths and jungle gyms are a great match for the Stiff brushes, as their exposure to the elements makes them a bit tougher to clean.

Red brushes can also be used as a step-up for similar applications as the Medium brushes in the event whatever you need to clean decides it doesn’t want to budge.

Ultra Stiff Brushes

Dirt ain’t getting away from these guys.

Here they are. The sultans of stiff. The heavyweight heavy scrubbers. Dirt’s final destination. The Ultra Stiff Black brushes.

The bristles are tough enough to strip off loose paint and have minimal flex under normal pressure. We actually managed to drill a hole in the ground with one once (though we wouldn’t recommend doing that if you want it to last a long time.)

These brushes are perfect for removing burnt on gristle from grill grates and ovens, making them our official barbecue brush. They make a safer alternative to metal wire brushes, but due to it being a nylon brush, it shouldn’t be used on a hot grill.

Black brushes also work well as a heavy duty option for cleaning outdoor equipment, such as clearing grass out of lawnmowers and knocking dirt off of metal garden tools. They are even tough enough to scrub concrete and brick surfaces like sidewalks and planters.

Additionally, they are often used in industrial settings for descaling, paint stripping, and harsh scrubbing.

Typically, if all else fails to remove a mess, the Ultra Stiff brushes clean up!

Brushes with Multi-Colored Bristles

Different colors, same stiffness!

Before we wrap up, there’s one more thing I want to address; the Original and Mini brushes, which have black bristles on the rounded tip. Many wonder whether the tips of the bullet-shaped brushes are Ultra Stiff?

This is an understandable concern, as Black is our Ultra Stiff color, but the bristles on all Mini and Original brushes are consistent throughout. So the black tip of a Medium Yellow Original is also medium stiff, soft on a Soft White, stiff on a Stiff Red, and so on. 

Cleaning with Color

Now that you know what each color does and how stiff each bristle is, you can make an educated choice on the right brushes for your needs!