The head includes the bristles and core of the pipe-cleaning brush. This is the part that cleans the pipe or fitting.
Most pipe-cleaning brushes have cylindrical heads…
…but some have domed bristles at the tip of the brush…
…or are a conical shape…
…and sometimes rectangular.
Bristles of a pipe-cleaning brush
The bristles, also known as the ‘fill,’ are the functioning part of the tool. The tips, and sometimes the length of the bristles, provide abrasion to remove the sediment from the surface of the material being cleaned.
Bristles can be straight or crimped. Crimping increases the strength and durability of the bristles because the wires catch and stabilise each other.
Core of a pipe-cleaning brush
The core is made of twisted metal strands that catch and hold the bristles tightly between them to form the head of the pipe-cleaning brush.
It can be made of two wires twisted together known as ‘single-wound’ or ‘single-spiral.’
For a more densely bristled brush, four wires with bristles between each are twisted together to form a ‘double-wound’ or ‘double-spiral’ core.
Tip of a pipe-cleaning brush
The tip may have bristles or may be blunt. Some blunt-tipped pipe-cleaning brushes have a plastic coating to avoid the sharp end of the wire damaging the object being cleaned.
Some brushes, usually American produced ones, have a loop on the tip known as a ‘nipple.’
Stem of a pipe-cleaning brush
The stem, also known as the shaft, defines the reach of the brush from the base of the head. The longer the stem, the further the pipe-cleaning brush head can be inserted into a pipe.
The stem and the core vary in flexibility, shape and strength depending on the tasks the pipe-cleaning brush is designed for.
Handle and hole of a pipe-cleaning brush
The handle provides comfort and ease of use. It also increases the precision in the application of the pipe-cleaning brush. Not all pipe-cleaning brushes have handles.
The handle is held in place either by the loop of the pipe-cleaning brush (see below)…
…or it is glued onto a blunt stem.
Some handles have a hole through them for hanging up the brush on a hook.
Loop of a pipe-cleaning brush
The loop allows the pipe-cleaning brush to be stored on a hook or multiple brushes to be attached to a belt or each other.
Loops are made of the stem material and act as the handle when a plastic or wooden handle is not present…
…although some pipe-cleaning brushes have a ‘blunt end’ with neither a loop nor a handle.
