Drill brushes are powerful cleaning tools that are a favorite of Underscored readers and staff alike. We love using these cordless drill attachments for all kinds of cleaning jobs at home and beyond, from deep-cleaning the bathroom to bringing a lot of scour power to kitchen cleanup.
But not all drill brushes are created equal — and that’s very much by design! The heads come in a variety of colors, brush shapes, sizes, brush stiffnesses and brush textures, and sorting out which is the right one for the job can be confusing.
To break it down, we created this guide to understanding the different attachment options, and the cleaning jobs each brush shape and stiffness is designed to do. In this roundup, we’re specifically looking at Drillbrush by Useful Products, one of the most popular brands of these attachments.
What do the different Drillbrush colors mean?
There are several Drillbrush options to choose from, and the brand-designated colors help differentiate the uses, from all-purpose cleaning to specialty tasks that call for gentle or heavy-duty tools.
The three medium brush attachments — yellow, green and blue — can be used interchangeably, but the company offers them in different colors for people who want a color-coding system to prevent cross-contamination. The color designations can vary from brand to brand, but Drillbrush assigned yellow for bathroom cleaning, green for kitchen tasks and blue for marine and outdoor usage. The medium brushes are general purpose, while the Soft, Stiff and Ultra Stiff brushes — white, red and black, respectively — are used for specialty cleaning jobs.
The yellow brushes can be used for cleaning tile and grout, fiberglass bathtubs and shower enclosures, as well as deep-cleaning the area around drains. Don't forget that the yellow, green and blue medium brushes can be used interchangeably for general-purpose cleaning jobs around the home — the color-coding system is designed to prevent cross-contamination.
The medium green attachment is especially useful for seasonal jobs like cleaning the oven, getting into the nooks and crannies of large appliances, and scouring grill grates. It is also a useful tool for scrubbing corners and cabinets to remove the sticky film from cooking particles that build up over time in a kitchen.
You can use the blue attachment to clean pools, hot tubs, boats, kayaks and plastic patio furniture. It can also be used to scrub outdoor surfaces like siding, but for rougher surfaces like brick or concrete, we think the Stiff Drillbrush attachments are better choices.
This attachment can be used to clean the interior of your car, from carpet and upholstery (including leather) to glass to plastic. However, we think designating this as "automotive" is a bit misleading; it can be used for many indoor cleaning jobs too, such as deep carpet cleaning or buffing and conditioning leather furniture.
Reach for the Stiff brush attachment to scrub rough indoor and outdoor surfaces, including concrete, brick, stone, decking and more. You can use it to clean fireplaces, garage floors, decking, siding and outdoor play sets. It can even remove loose paint and/or rust.
Designed for industrial jobs, this Ultra Stiff brush attachment can tackle paint stripping and descaling. Other jobs you can do with it include cleaning outdoor equipment like lawnmowers and garden tools, scrubbing concrete and brick walkways, and cleaning caked-on dirt and algae from planters.
What are the Drillbrush attachments used for?
In addition to different brush stiffnesses and bristle textures, Drillbrush attachments come in five shapes designed for various cleaning jobs. These brush shapes are also available in a range of sizes, allowing users even more control and precision when selecting the right cleaning tool for the job at hand.
These detail brushes are best for spot cleaning small parts like rivets, lug nuts and other fixtures. Several reviewers have even used the detail brush to clean their sneakers.
The 5- and 7-inch flat brushes are designed for cleaning large, even surfaces like walkways or decking. It also comes in a smaller 4-inch size, which can be used to scrub kitchen or bathroom surfaces.
The rounded shape of the "original" brush head is designed to get into contours, nooks, crannies and other hard-to-reach spaces.
This thin and wide round brush is designed for use on baseboards, grout lines, oven and grill grates, vent grates, grooved surfaces and overhangs — all parts of your home that you may forget to clean.
Drillbrush's cone-shaped head is designed for use on 90-degree corners. It can scour caked-on dirt, buildup and even loose paint from corners, nooks and crannies. The corner brush unfortunately isn’t sold separately, but it is included in this set.