The Original Brush - The Most Versatile Drillbrush Product

The Original Scrub Brush

When the Drillbrush Power Scrubber was invented in 2007 by car wash owner Anthony LaPolla, it consisted of two components; a toilet scrub brush and a drill bit. The toilet brush’s rounded design allowed LaPolla to use it for cleaning inside vehicle rims and the bit, naturally, allowed it to be attached to a cordless drill.

While the brush has been refined over the years since its original prototype, the same general shape was kept intact. Fifteen years later, that brush remains one of our best selling products and most versatile cleaners.

Today, we’re going to go over our signature scrubber; the one so synonymous with Drillbrush that we call it the “Original brush. Let’s see what makes this bullet-shaped scrubber the cleaning titan that customers worldwide trust with their household messes and stains!

Original Brush Specs

The specs for the Original brush.

The Original brush gets its name from its distinction of being the first Drillbrush product ever sold, but it sometimes is referred to as our “Bullet-shaped brush” for its rounded, cylindrical bristle layout.

The brush is 3.5 inches long and 3.25 inches wide with a 1 inch diameter polypropylene block. The brush has 1.25 inch long nylon bristles and a 1/ inch Quickchange shaft; the standard drill bit for most Drillbrush products.

Original brushes can be used in all standard cordless drills and impact drivers and are available in Soft White, Medium Yellow, Green, and Blue, Stiff Red, and Ultra Stiff Black. The tip of the brush features black bristles that are the same stiffness as the rest of the brush. For example, the black tip of a Medium Yellow Drillbrush will also be medium, while the tip on a Stiff Red brush will be Stiff.

Corners and Contours

A Soft White Original brush being used on rims.

The primary function of the Original brush is to scrub around curved surfaces, rounded structures, and contoured areas. Original brushes get into spaces that flat brushes, like the 4 inch and 5 inch, can’t scrub effectively. Considering all of the hard-to-get-into spots around the house that get dirty, there’s no shortage of uses for the Original.

Soft White Original brushes have a wide range of cleaning capabilities. As a household scrubber, it is great for getting between couch cushions, cleaning intricate wood furniture, and getting inside glass vases and jars. On the automotive side of things, White Originals are key for getting inside rims, around tires, in-between cars seats, and touching up hard-to-reach spots in the interior.

Medium Yellow Original brushes are a must-have for bathroom scrubbing. Many bathroom surfaces, such as sinks, tubs, showers, and toilet basins, have rounded walls, edges, and components. This makes the Original brush a great tool for cleaning soap scum and grime.

A Medium Yellow Original brush being used in the corner of a shower shelf.

In Kitchens, Medium Green Original brushes are commonly used in sinks and drain openings, as well as inside the shelves of refrigerators and small appliances like microwaves and coffee makers.

Like in the Bathroom, many surfaces on marine vessels, around swimming pools, and in hot tubs have curved surfaces that are best tackled with a Medium Blue Original brush. These include boat seats, canoes, kayaks, jet skis, and the bottom of the hot tub. Blue brushes also work for pet care applications, like scrubbing litter boxes, food bowls, or fish tanks

Stiff Red Originals are useful on outdoor surfaces, like bird fountains, statues, and especially in the corners of sheds, windows, and fireplaces. Original brushes also work well cleaning off siding, as it is about as wide as a typical sliding slat and the tip of the brush can get underneath the overhang.

Lastly, the Ultra Stiff Black Original brushes are for heavy duty cleaning, particular inside grills and barbeques. It also does a great job cleaning out lawnmowers, wheelbarrows, and garden equipment.

Other Uses

A Medium Yellow Brush being used on a carpet.

Just when you thought we’d reach the end of everything the Original brush can do, there's still more!

Using the side of the brush over carpets, boot trays, and car mats can pull deep-set particles out of carpet fibers and loosen up messes wedged in anti skid grips and treading.

In the Pet Care space, along with the previously mentioned uses, the Medium Brush can pick up pet hair from couches and chairs. Simply run a dry brush at a moderate speed over the hair-covered surface and the stray hairs will cling to the bristles.

Some pets even like the feel of the Original brush as a massaging tool. We go over the intricacies of it in our Unusual Use-Cases article.

Mini and Jumbo Original Brushes

Whether it's a Mini (left) or a Jumbo (right), we’ve got Original-style brushes in all sizes!

While the Original is the go-to brush for most situations, there are edge cases where the Original may not be the ideal tool. Which is why we have two additional variations on the Original brush for just such occasions.

The first is the Mini Original Brush. This scrubber is smaller than the Original, being 3 inches long, 2.5 inches wide, and having 1 inch long bristles. The Mini Original is built for scrubbing tighter corners and smaller spaces, just as drain pipes, between car seats, and inside jars and vases.

The other is a newer brush in the Drillbrush catalog; the Jumbo brush. This is a longer version of the Original that is 5 inch in length, but features the same 3.25 inch diameter and 1.25 inch long bristles. This brush acts as a half-step between the Original brush and our flat brushes; giving you a rounded top for scrubbing in corners and more surface area on the side for scrubbing carpets, couch cushions, and tub walls.

Like the Original, both the Mini and Jumbo Originals are available in all colors and stiffnesses and are available in a variety of kits, including some that also feature an Original brush.

These three brushes aren’t our only corner-centric brushes, however. The Cone-shaped brush is great for scrubbing 90-degree-angled surfaces. You can read about that brush in full here.

Original Brush Kits

Left to Right: A Medium Yellow 42O Bathroom kit, a Variety 542O kit, and a Variety Ultimate kits.

As a staple brush in our line, the Original brush is found in nearly every kit. In fact, it might be easier to list the ones it’s not in!

Popular Original brush kits include the 42O kit; a best seller that pairs it with the 2 inch Short and 4 inch flat brushes, the 542O kit; which adds a 5 inch brush to mix, the Ultimate brush kit; which features the aforementioned brushes, as well as a 2 inch Long and Mini Original, and the 4O kit; one of our earliest kit-types.

To view our full line of kits featuring the Original brush; click here.

No Substitutes; Just the Original

The Original brush is one of the go-to Drilbrush scrubbers in our catalog and a must-have for any cleaner, pro or novice!

Got a brush you want us to do a deep dive on? Comment it below, or check out our Drillbrush Shape Guide for more information!