Care
When to retire
Everything here has an end, and most of the signs are visible or detectable well before anything goes wrong.
Retirement is a maintenance decision rather than a dramatic one. An object that fails one of the checks below is finished for internal use, whatever its condition elsewhere, and continuing with it is a slow way to acquire an infection.
Signs by material
- Any material
- A tear, a crack, a chip or a scratch deep enough to catch a fingernail. Any of these creates a channel that cannot be cleaned.
- Silicone
- A permanently tacky surface, usually caused by contact with silicone lubricant or with a blend object. It does not recover.
- Blends
- A smell that returns within a day of cleaning, discolouration, or a greasy film that reappears after wiping.
- Rigid plastic
- A seam that has opened, a rattling interior, or a coating that has begun to lift and become sticky.
- Glass
- Any chip or star crack, however small, and any piece that has been dropped onto a hard floor.
- Steel
- Pitting or rough patches, which indicate corrosion beginning below the polish.
Electrical signs
- Charging that stops working, or a cell that runs flat within minutes.
- Heat during use beyond mild warmth.
- A motor that changes pitch, stutters or refuses a setting.
- Water inside a supposedly sealed shell, visible as condensation.
Disposal
Anything containing a lithium cell is electronic waste and goes to a recycling point rather than into a bin, since damaged cells start fires in bin lorries. Silicone, glass and steel are inert and can go in general waste, although a local recycling scheme may take the metal. Removing the cell first is worth doing where the shell opens without a fight.
Replacing sensibly
A replacement bought in a hurry usually repeats whatever went wrong with the last one. Working out which property actually failed, material, motor, seal or battery, points at what to look for next time. The buying section sets out the order in which those properties are worth weighing.
Keeping a record
Nobody remembers when something was bought, which makes the age of an object almost impossible to judge when a decision is needed. A note on a phone with the month and the material takes ten seconds and turns a guess into a fact. For blends in particular, where service life is measured in months, that note is the difference between replacing on schedule and replacing after a problem.
Warranty periods are worth noting at the same time. Most manufacturers in this category offer one year as standard and some offer considerably longer on the motor, which is worth claiming rather than assuming it has expired.