We are all starting to tighten up our belts for the holiday season. It’s times like these when every item around your house that can do more than one thing becomes VERY valuable. We have talked a lot about cleaning with salt, vinegar and other household items. Today, we are going to talk about all the awesome stuff toothpaste can do!
Yeah, honestly, toothpaste is great. But keep in mind, we are talking PASTE here, not the gel stuff. Toothpaste contains baking soda (a mild abrasive), another item we have talked about using all over the house. The fact that it comes conveniently packed in a tube makes for easier cleaning. Check out all these awesome things you can do with a tube of NON-gel toothpaste!
Remove scuffs from shoes. Just a little toothpaste does a great job removing scuffs from leather shoes. Just use a dab on the scuffed area and rub with a soft cloth. Wipe clean. You can also clean the rubber part of your white sneekers with toothpaste. Same method.
Clean your piano keys. I don’t have a piano, in fact, I don’t even know anyone who ones one, but surely SOMEONE out there can use this tip!! Just use some toothpaste and a toothbrush to do a bit of scrubbing and wipe down with a damp cloth. Of course, this makes a lot of sense, right? Ivory is nothing but elephant teeth! The tip does work on modern pianos which have plastic keys.
Clean your iron. If you wind up with some kind of gunk on the soul-plate of your iron, just use toothpaste to clean it. UNPLUG your iron, and apply toothpaste to plate. Scrub with a rag and then rinse clean.
Polish your diamond. This is a decent method because baking soda won’t hurt your diamond at all. Just use a toothbrush to brush your jewelry and then rinse well.
Deoderize baby bottles. Eventually, baby bottles will smell a little like sour milk. Toothpaste will remove that smell in seconds. Just put some on a bottle brush or tooth paste and scrub. Be absolutely certain to rinse VERY thoroughly.
Prevent bathroom mirrors from fogging. If you don’t have great ventilation in your bathroom, you know that you may have to wait up to 30 minutes to be able to see in your mirror after a shower! Of course, you can always try to wipe it down with a towel, but that leaves streaks and never really works as well as you want it to. Next time you have a few extra minutes, coat your mirror with a thin layer of toothpaste and then wipe away. Your mirror won’t fog!
Prevent goggles from fogging. If you like to swim at the gym or have a kid on the swim team, make things easier by keeping goggles from fogging. Do the same thing as above, coat the inside of the goggles with toothpaste and wipe away.
Shine your bathroom and kitchen fixtures and sinks. They do make commercial cleaners (like “Soft Scrub”) for cleaning fixtures, sinks and counters. They have baking soda in them for the abrasiveness, but also contain dangerous chemicals (and cost a lot of money!). Cut out the middle man and use toothpaste! Smear the toothpaste all over giving a brisk rub-down over everything and polish with a soft, dry cloth. The extra bonus of cleaning your sink with toothpaste is that it will kill odors coming from the drain trap.
Remove crayon from walls and floors. My mom could have used this tip- I was a big fan of crayons AND walls. Grab a tube of toothpaste and a rag or scrub brush. Squirt the toothpaste on the wall and scrub. The abrasive will scrub away the wax easily. Rinse with water. DO NOT use this method on mat paint or unfinished wood!!
Remove ink or lipstick from fabric. Ink stains happen. This trick doesn’t always work, it does depend on the fabric, but I haven’t nailed down that secret combo yet. The truth is, this is always worth trying before scrapping an item of clothing. Put a little toothpaste on the stain and rub the fabric vigorously together. Rinse with water. If some of the ink/lipstick came out, repreat the process until the stain has been removed.
Remove watermarks from the furniture. You’ve got coasters around, but no one seems to remember to use them. Instead of yelling at your guests, just clean up later. You can remove water rings left by sweating glasses by rubbing some toothpaste on the wood with a soft cloth. Wipe it off with a damp cloth and let the area dry before applying furniture polish. DO NOT use this method on unfinished wood!
Remove beach tar. That black goop that winds up on your feet after a trip to the beach used to be a pain. It’s so easy to remove by rubbing with some toothpaste and rinsing.
Clear up pimples. This REALLY works, I have been using this method for YEARS. If a zit is growing on your face, just put a dab of toothpaste on the spot and let it remain overnight. The toothpaste will be dry in the morning. It will have dehydrated the pimple and absorbed the oil. This remedy works best if the pimple has already come to a head. If you have sensitive skin, you may want to use a toothpaste without a lot of mint in it, sometimes that can cause a slight burning sensation.
Get icky smells off your hands. If you have been cooking garlic and onions, or have been into something else that makes your hands stink, wash them with toothpaste, and the smell will be gone!
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