15 Amazing Uses for Toothpaste You Never Thought Of
We all know it whitens and brightens teeth, but I’ll bet you didn’t know toothpaste can be used to remedy a laundry list of issues around your home! It turns out simple, cheap toothpastes without a lot of additives can be useful all over your home, from stain removal to skin treatment. Following are 15 of my favorite uses for toothpaste that have nothing to do with teeth:
1. Ease Acne
To reduce redness and draw the pus out of pimples, just put a pinch of toothpaste on the affected area for a few minutes then wash away. For dryness afterward, have some lotion handy. Again, avoid gels or pastes with unnecessary bleach additives, simple white abrasive toothpaste is all you need for maximum effect and minimal reaction risk.
2. Nurture Nails
Want to freshen up your nails cheaply and effectively? Simply brush them as you would your teeth. They are, after all, made from the same substance. The mild abrasive in the paste will work to exfoliate and shine up dull nails.
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3. Soothe Bites and Burns
Simply applying toothpaste to wounds can be incredibly soothing. The vapor action of the minty paste feels cool while the action of the paste tightens skin and eases inflammation.
4. Hair DO!
If you’ve ever dyed your hair and ended up with stained skin around the hairline, you can remove the stain by treating with toothpaste. As a pretreatment, you can also head off staining by simply smearing a little around the hairline before you begin applying dye.
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5. Chrome Polish
The mild abrasive in toothpaste is gentle, yet effective at cleaning and polishing chrome. So feel free to shine up your towel racks, faucets, or even your motorcycle cheaply and easily!
6. Sparkling Silver
Yes, it works on silver too! So the next time your cutlery, silverware, or silver jewelry is looking a little dull, skip the fancy polish and just buff it to brightness with toothpaste and a cloth.
7. Save CD’s
Got a favorite disk that’s starting to skip? Simple toothpaste is mild enough to shine up your CD and get you back to bopping along in no time!
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8. Freshen Baby Bottles
A lot of money gets wasted on buying up baby bottles to replace some that start to smell like sour milk. Instead of tossing your next not-so-fresh bottle, try adding a little toothpaste and some warm water and then shaking it vigorously. Dump it out and rinse and you should be left with a clean and minty fresh bottle.
9. Sneaker Cleaner
If you’ve got some shoes that have white trim, or at least was white once upon a time, simply brush around the shoes with a bit of toothpaste and an old brush to make your shoes look new again.
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10. Whiten Piano Keys
In a similar way to shoes, piano keys tend to look aged and yellowed after time. To freshen them up, simply brush them as you would teeth and clean away the stains in minutes.
11. Clean Crayon Marks
Has your little one decorated a white wall as high as he or she could reach? Don’t freak out. Simply scrub away the waxy residue with a little toothpaste. Then give your little one a coloring book.
12. Coffee & Tea Stains
It seems just a matter of time before lightly colored coffee and tea cups develop those nasty, stubborn brown rings inside. Rather than frustrating yourself scrubbing away with liquid soap, instead try brushing with toothpaste. Your mugs will look new in no time.
Image Credit: Alan Levine via Flickr CC
13. Mug Marks
Not everyone at the party using coasters properly? Not to worry, you can easily polish away cup and mug marks from your favorite table with a little toothpaste.
14. Iron Cleaner
Need to iron something in a rush and don’t trust your dirty iron to leave your shirt clean and pressed? Just polish away tarnish and black marks on your iron with a bit of toothpaste.
photo credit to dreamalittlebigger.com
15. Filler Fixer
Want to hide a few small nail marks in your walls when you’re getting ready to move? A spot of toothpaste quickly conceals small holes and saves you money on spackle.
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