What’s the Difference Between Each Drillbrush Shape?
Posted by John Cittadino on
So you’ve decided you want to stop scrubbing by hand and join the world of drill-powered cleaning. You go online and see a smorgasbord of brushes to choose from. Round brushes, flat brushes, thin brushes, wheel shaped brushes, and countless others. All these options are great, but if you’re new to this type of cleaning, you may not know which brushes are best for your needs.
Luckily, we at Drillbrush sell a large variety of brushes and know them inside and out. So we’ve compiled every brush we sell, broken them up by general use-case, and described what each brush can do so you can make an informed decision!
Corner Brushes
The Origin of Brushies
The first brush created by Drillbrush founder Anthony LaPolla was built out of a repurposed toilet scrubber. He took the rounded brush head from the scrubber and combined it with a drill bit so he could clean rims at his car wash. This design was tweaked and modified, resulting in our flagship brush; the “Original.”
The Original brush is a bullet-shaped brush created to get into corners, as well as cleaning curved or contoured surfaces. The brush has bristles surrounding the sides and nose, allowing it to get into tight corners without the plastic block getting in the way.
Original-style brushes are great for cleaning sinks and bathtubs, as well as wheel-wells, car seats, and deck chairs.
It was an Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Medium Mini Brush!
There are two variants on the Original brush; the Mini Original and the Jumbo Original. The Mini Original, as the name implies, is a smaller version of the Original. It’s built to get into corners too tight for the regular Original, like drainpipe openings and rims.
Gaze upon its splendor!
The Jumbo Original has the same diameter as the Original, but has a taller block. The additional surface area is helpful for cleaning large curved surfaces, like bathtub and hot tub walls.
You can also use it to clean some flat surfaces as well. The Jumbo Original is great at cleaning carpets, as the rounded brush can lift deep-set particles from the fibers.
Cleans every corner of the house!
It has a round block, similar to the Drillbrush flat brushes, only its smaller and has longer bristles. However, these bristles are trimmed into a pointed cone shape, allowing finer entry into tight corners.
Back dirt into a corner!
Overall, the Original is a must-have for drill-powered cleaning. It is extremely versatile and incredibly effective for household and automotive cleaning. It’s also one of the most common brushes to find in a Drillbrush brush kit, so you can easily develop a cleaning arsenal based around it.
The Mini and Jumbo brushes do a comparable job to the Original. Go with those if you feel their shape and size better suites whatever cleaning tasks you have in mind.
The corner brush’s ability to get into very tight corners is incredibly useful. If you can, definitely pick this one up in a 4-C-O [LINK: 42CO kits TEXT: ] or similar kit.
Flat Brushes
Survival of the Flattest!
It’s pretty easy to figure out what the Flat brushes are all about. They are circular brushes with equal-length bristles on one side meant for cleaning flat surfaces. They come in a variety of sizes, similar to the Originals, but what is unique about the flat brushes is the different shafts they’re available in.
Flatland Favorites!
The standard 4 inch and 5 inch flat brushes have a 1/4-inch quickchange shaft which is compatible with most standard cordless drills and impact drivers. The 4 inch is for smaller flat surfaces like tables and counters, while the 5 inch is built for larger tasks, like floors and walls.
Shut your mouth!” “I’m just talking about shafts!
The 5 inch comes in two additional shaft variants. The first is the 5 inch Hex, a 5 inch brush with a 5/16-inch hexagonal shaft. This brush has a larger bit that only fits in standard cordless drills. The other is a 5 inch Threaded. This version has a 3/8-inch, 24 threads-per-inch threaded shaft that screws into oscillatory polishers.
Breaking out the big guns!
Last, but not least, is the 7 inch brush. This brush is a behemoth, sporting long bristles and a thick block. It is the largest brush in our line. As such, it needs more support than a standard quickchange shaft. The 7 inch brush has a 5/8-inch, 11 threads-per-inch threaded nut that screws onto variable speed polishers. The brush comes with two set screws and an allen wrench to secure the brush to the polisher. Despite being a heavyweight and not having a quickchange shaft, it is possible to use it on cordless drills using our Threaded to Quickchange Adapter.
To learn more about the different shafts, you can check out our LDrillbrush Shaft Guide video.
Find the Flat Brush for You!
For most situations, the standard quickchange 4 inch and 5 inch brushes should be able to handle the job. Our 4-2-O and 5-4-2-O kits are popular with a lot of customers, so those two often see a lot of use.
The 5 inch Hex and Threaded are a bit more niche, especially the latter which requires an oscillatory polisher. They also aren’t featured in many bundled kits, so unless you have a specific use for them, stick with the standard quickchange brushes.
The 7 inch also requires a specific tool and is more geared for professional cleaners and industrial settings, so your average spring cleaner may not have a use for it. However if you have a lot of large-scale cleaning tasks, like decks, large carpets, or RVs, it might be worth it to look into the 7 inch as an option.
Detail Brushes
It takes two to make a clean go right!
For spot cleaning and detail work, we have the 2 inch detail brushes! These are the smallest brushes in our line and are useful for small spots and quick clean up, like toothpaste stains on bathroom counters and sauce droplets on stovetops.
They are 2 inches in diameter and come in two variants; Short and Long. The 2 inch Short brush has shorter bristles that bend less for heavy scrubbing on level surfaces while the 2 inch Long brush has longer, more flexible bristles that can wrap around contoured surfaces like faucets and fixtures.
This really hits the spot(s)!
These brushes are best used as assistants to the flat and corner brushes, as they can handle tough spots and quick cleanups. Luckily, the 2 inch Short especially is found in a lot of kits, including our best-selling 4-2-O kits.
And you thought the 2 inch Long was long!
Recently, we added another detail brush to our line; the 1 inch Long. This brush has extremely long 2.5 inch bristles and a small diameter to wash away messes on lug nuts, inside glassware, and around small complex fixtures and molding.
This brush can be found paired with two Edge brushes in our EES-1L kit.
Edge Brushes
A cutting edge brush!
The last brush in our line is the most unique. The Edge brush is a wheel-shaped brush with bristles around the outside of the block in a thin strip. This arrangement allows it to get into grout lines and grooved surfaces, such as bathroom tile, tub grout, grill grates, and shoe treads.
However, grout lines aren't the Edge brush’s only skill. Its size allows the bristles to travel at a faster speed and it’s tightly clustered bristles allow the Edge brush to punch above its weight when it comes to spot cleaning and finer surfaces like mouse mats.
An Edge brush alone won’t clean the entire house, but it’s a great supporting tool, especially if you’re cleaning a lot of tiled surfaces. It’s recommended to pick it up as part of a kit, as it’s often paired with a lot of versatile tools.
Brush Colors
Oooo! The colors!
Brush shape is not the only factor to look at when choosing a brush. At least for Drillbrush products, our brushes are color-coded based on use-case and bristle stiffness. It’s important to know which brush is appropriate for a task, as you may end up using a brush that is either too stiff or too soft. Above is a color chart that breaks things down simply, but if you want more information on bristle stiffness and color, we have a blog about that too.
A Brush with Greatness
The Drillbrush line is bursting with products, and while it may seem daunting to sift through, there’s a brush for every scenario!
If you saw a brush that caught your eye, you can check our full catalog and find a brush or kit that meets all of your needs!
| John is the lead graphic designer, script writer, and video editor for Drillbrush. John is a die-hard motorsports fan and loves storytelling and illustrating.
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