2 weeks ago
LONDON (AP) — Toothbrushes utilized to beryllium simple, powered only by your manus truthful they ne'er collapsed down. Nowadays, rechargeable electrical toothbrushes are progressively celebrated because they make brushing easier and much effective, but they are a headache erstwhile they extremity moving properly.
Inside an electrical toothbrush’s waterproof lodging is simply a artillery that powers a mini centrifugal which quickly rotates aliases vibrates a replaceable brushwood head. The batteries are usually rechargeable but don’t past forever. The mobility of their longevity, and toothbrush repairability arsenic a whole, is nan taxable of galore online forums.
If you’ve ever owned one, you’ve astir apt noticed recharging intervals becoming much and much frequent. At immoderate constituent you mightiness determine to propulsion it out, adding to nan world’s increasing heap of physics waste.
But each is not lost. You tin salary personification other to repair it, aliases — pinch immoderate online thief — do it yourself. Here are immoderate pointers:
CAN I REPAIR MY ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH MYSELF?
According to nan manufacturers, nan reply is usually no. They pass group against disassembling nan devices, saying it’s vulnerable aliases that it will void nan warranty. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it yourself, repair advocates say.
You tin find websites and YouTube channels devoted to showing group really to hole their battery-powered brushes.
Toothbrush manufacturers will opportunity nan devices are not “user serviceable” but it’s “blatantly untrue,” said Shahram Mokhtari, lead teardown technologist astatine iFixit, a right-to-repair defense group. “Some of these devices person very replaceable batteries,” and successful astir cases, it’s conscionable a matter of getting wrong nan instrumentality and learning really to do a small spot of soldering aliases taking it to personification tin do it, he said.
DIY fixes mightiness soon beryllium modular practice. The European Union, a pioneer of world tech regulations, is drafting rules to promote nan repair of electrical devices, while respective states person introduced right-to-repair legislation.
HOW DO I GET TO THE BATTERY?
Every exemplary is somewhat different but models from Oral B and Philips Sonicare — 2 of nan astir celebrated brands — tin beryllium dismantled utilizing nan aforesaid wide procedure.
Most Oral B brushes tin beryllium opened by holding nan toothbrush and nan charging guidelines together, and past twisting nan guidelines to popular nan bottommost headdress off. On immoderate models, you mightiness alternatively person to usage nan guidelines arsenic a lever to popular it off.
Philips Sonicare models are a spot trickier. You’ll request thing to pry disconnected nan bottommost cap, specified arsenic a mini flathead screwdriver aliases a integrative instrumentality known arsenic a “ spudger.”
Whatever nan model, if it’s excessively tight immoderate websites counsel softening up nan integrative lodging by placing nan brushwood successful basking h2o for a fewer minutes.
Once it’s off, you’ll request to descent nan physics innards retired of nan housing. You mightiness request to first region a metallic aliases integrative ringing connected nan brushwood caput spindle. Then push nan spindle against thing difficult to descent nan centrifugal assembly retired nan bottom. You mightiness request to pry unfastened immoderate integrative tabs first. Again, each toothbrush is different truthful it’s champion to consult, if possible, nan guideline to your circumstantial exemplary connected iFixit aliases different repair websites.
DO I NEED TECHNICAL SKILLS?
On immoderate models, nan artillery is not truthful easy to region because it’s soldered to nan circuit board. But if you consciousness handy, you could do it yourself, Mokhtari said. You will request a soldering robust to undo nan wiring relationship and past you’ll person to re-solder a caller artillery in. If you’ve ne'er done it before, location are videos. Be careful, nan soldering robust is hot.
“We would promote group to study that accomplishment because it’s not a difficult point to learn,” said Mokhtari. The soldering process for toothbrushes are mostly similar, and will beryllium “a small spot delicate” and “a small spot difficult,” he said.
CAN I GET A REPLACEMENT BATTERY?
Yes, but you’ll person to make judge it’s nan correct size. It’s usually a cylindrical compartment akin to nan Energizer aliases Duracell AA batteries successful your TV remote, but don’t presume it’s nan same.
It could could beryllium longer, shorter aliases person a different diameter than a modular AA. Some person metallic tabs that request to beryllium soldered to nan circuit board. Whatever nan type, it should beryllium disposable online.
WHICH ONES ARE EASIEST TO REPAIR?
Oral B is making it easier for consumers to do DIY repairs pinch their IO statement of toothbrushes, which tin beryllium fixed without master tools. Some versions moreover travel pinch a information charger that’s specifically designed for usage arsenic a instrumentality to twist disconnected nan bottommost headdress erstwhile turned upside down. After sliding retired nan mechanism, simply popular nan artillery out.
The downside is that IO models, and their brushwood heads, are much costly than different Oral B exemplary lines, according to nan U.K. website toothbrushbattery.com, which has a buyer’s guide ranking electrical toothbrushes by their easiness of repair.
Some upstart brands for illustration Suri and Quip item their repairability arsenic portion of their sustainable appeal. Suri, however, says owners should nonstop them backmost to beryllium fixed and shouldn’t do it themselves, and only if they’ve signed up for a brushwood caput subscription plan.
Other types whitethorn vary. Mokhtari demonstrated for nan Associated Press nan process for taking isolated a marque caller Philips Sonicare 6100 model. It took him much than 15 minutes to get nan bottommost headdress disconnected and region nan electronics, past tackle a analyzable desoldering process.
“This is conscionable not user friendly. This is not repair friendly.” he said. “We’re already measurement beyond what would beryllium reasonable for a DIY repair job.”
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