How to Use Toothpaste to Clean and Shine Your Home

What do you use toothpaste for? Keeping your teeth clean, you say. It’s time you broadened your outlook on this common household commodity.

While the Greeks and the Romans had their own recipes of toothpaste and tooth powders, modern toothpaste for maintaining oral hygiene came into general use in the 19^th century.

Along with fluoride for preventing cavities, modern formulation generally contains fine abrasive agents such as calcium carbonate, dehydrated silica gel, and hydrated aluminum oxides that help to scrub away the plaque buildup without harming and scratching your teeth. Toothpaste also contains flavoring agents, detergents, and humectants.

Out of these ingredients, the abrasive agents and the detergents make the toothpaste effective in cleaning. The fact that the toothpastes are formulated to be gentle on the teeth, it makes them versatile in their applications.

Limiting toothpaste to keeping your pearly whites clean is like limiting water to drinking. Tapping into the various applications of toothpaste is hardly a work of a genius. All you need to do is keep an open mind because the possibilities are endless.

We have tried to categorize various applications of toothpaste into five sections. Each section further lists how you can actually use toothpaste to clean and shine your home.

Cleaning and Stain Removal Agent

Toothpaste works very well as a cleaning and stain removal agent, mostly because of its formulation that is intended for cleaning and stain removal of our teeth. Teeth are hard but delicate in their structure and composition. White toothpaste has a foaming formula that contains cleaning agents and extremely fine abrasive agents, which scrub out the stain from the surface of the material without scratching it.

Method 1: Remove Crayon from Wall

Fine abrasive agents present in toothpaste can get into the grain of the wall and help to scrub out the crayon residue without damaging the finish.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Old toothbrush
• Paper towel

Step 1. Scrub the crayon marks from the wall with toothpaste

• Squeeze some toothpaste onto a discarded toothbrush.
• Brush the crayon-stained wall with toothpaste.
• Work the toothbrush on the wall till the entire crayon lifts from the surface.
• Consider your work done when the foamy white toothpaste transforms into a colorful foamy mess and the crayon streaks are no longer visible on the wall.

Step 2. Wipe away the colorful mess

• Wipe away the foamy mess with a paper towel, so that no residue of toothpaste or crayon remains on the wall.
• If your wall can stand a little water, you can also use a slightly damp towel to wipe off the mess more efficiently.

Method 2: Remove Stains from Cloth

You can use toothpaste to clean pigment-based stains like that of ink or lipstick from the fabrics of clothes such as shirts and scarves. All you need to do is spot clean the area by brushing it with soft-bristled brush before laundering the clothing as usual. The results with ink stains will vary depending on the fabric and the ink formulation.

#Ink Stain

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Nail brush

Step 1. Scrub the ink stain with toothpaste

• Squirt some toothpaste over the ink stain on the cloth.
• Scrub the stain thoroughly with a soft bristled brush, i.e., a discarded nail brush or toothbrush.
• Keep scrubbing till the pigment of the ink appears to have lifted from the cloth.

Step 2. Rinse out the toothpaste and launder the cloth

• Rinse out the inky toothpaste with water.
• If the ink stain is still not sufficiently lifted, scrub the stain again with toothpaste. Continue till the stain lightens as much as possible.
• When the ink stain lightens considerably, launder the cloth as usual for complete stain removal.

#Lipstick Stain

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Nail brush

Step 1. Scrub the lipstick mark with toothbrush

• Cover the lipstick mark with a squirt of toothpaste.
• Use a soft bristled brush, i.e., a nail brush or discarded toothbrush to scrub out the stain.

Step 2. Rinse out the toothpaste and wash as usual

• When the lipstick mark seems to have lifted, rinse the cloth with plain water to remove the foamy mess.
• Examine the lingering lipstick mark and repeat scrubbing with toothpaste if required.
• When the stain seems to have sufficiently lifted, put the cloth into the wash to remove the stain entirely.

Method 3: Remove Water Marks from Wood

Water marks or water rings appear on wooden tables when you accidentally keep glasses or mugs on them without coasters. Wooden surfaces are often delicate and can easily be damaged when exposed to water from sweating glasses. These unsightly water ring marks can easily be buffed away with some plain white toothpaste.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Towel

Step 1. Rub the toothpaste on the water marks

• Squeeze out some toothpaste over the water marks on the wooden surface.
• Spread the toothpaste to cover the water marks and rub it over the stained wooden surface till the marks disappear. You can just get messy with your hands or do this with a soft cloth.

Step 2. Wipe the wooden surface clean

• When the toothpaste seems to have done its work, wipe off the mess with a soft towel.

Method 4: Remove Permanent Marker Stains

The inks in permanent markers are solvent-based. When the solvent dries, they adhere fast to the surface applied. Such markings can usually be cleaned with solvent-based cleaners, but if you don’t wish to work with such cleaners, toothpaste offers a nontoxic alternative.

Plain white toothpaste can be easily used to get rid of permanent marker stains on wall, wood, and even dry erase boards. Its fine abrasive formula removes the ink from the grain of the material without ruining the surface finish.

#From Wall

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Old toothbrush
• Dish towel
• Water

Step 1. Brush the permanent ink-stained wall with toothpaste

• Squirt some toothpaste over an old toothbrush.
• Start brushing the ink stain on the wall with the toothpaste to work out the ink set into the wall.

Step 2. Wipe off the mess with damp dish towel

• Wet a dish towel by pouring a little water over it.
• Wipe off the foamy toothpaste residue with the damp dish towel.

#From Wood

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Dish towel
• Water
• Towel

Step 1. Buff the permanent ink-stained wood with toothpaste

• Squeeze out some toothpaste over the permanent ink stain.
• Use a dish towel to buff the toothpaste over the ink stain.
• Keep buffing till the ink leaves the surface of the wood.

Step 2. Wipe off the toothpaste with damp towel

• Dip a towel into some water.
• Use the damp towel to wipe off the toothpaste along with the ink.

#From Dry Erase Board

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Dish towel

Single-Step Treatment: Buff the permanent marking with toothpaste and dish towel

• Smear a dab of toothpaste over the permanent marker stain on the dry erase board.
• Buff the toothpaste over the ink stain with a dish towel.
• Work the stain till it comes off entirely.
• Wipe off the paste residue with the clean end of the dish towel.

Method 5: Clean Headlights

Headlights are made of polycarbonates and can become dull and cloudy over time due to oxidation, even with good maintenance. Everyday debris, UV radiation, and chemicals present in the atmosphere contribute to the deterioration of the headlights.

If you’re suffering from poor visibility during night time due to cloudy headlights, non-gel toothpaste offers an easy solution. While restoring your headlights with toothpaste, you run no risk of making the matters worse like you do with sanding and polishing your headlights.

Toothpaste will not only polish the surface but will also fill in fine scratches that may interfere with the visibility. For great results, dust the headlights with a dusting cloth to remove loose dirt and debris from the surface before you begin.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Old toothbrush

Step 1. Scrub the headlights with toothpaste and a soft brush

• Squirt some toothpaste over an old toothbrush with soft bristles and apply it to the headlights.
• You may spray a little water over the headlights to wet them before applying toothpaste to them.
• Gently brush the toothpaste thoroughly over the headlights, covering the entire surface of the headlights.

Step 2. Wipe off the toothpaste residue

• Remove the entire toothpaste residue from the headlights with a paper towel.
• You may also spray the headlights with a little water while wiping for better cleaning.

Shining or Polishing Agent

Fine abrasive agents present in the white non-gel toothpaste formulation can help you shine and polish a variety of surfaces. For the delicate and newly purchased or installed surface, you may need to do a bit of spot test before you use toothpaste to polish it. But if you’ve got old and dull-looking surfaces that need to be taken care of, toothpaste is great for restoring them.

Method 1: Shine Chrome

Ironically the shine of that toothpaste-spattered faucet can easily be restored back with non-gel toothpaste. Chrome fixtures can be easily brought to a shine by buffing with toothpaste – little or no elbow grease required.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Old toothbrush
• Towel

Step 1. Scrub the chrome fixture with toothpaste

• Apply some toothpaste to the fixture.
• Scrub the entire fixture with a toothbrush and avoid harsh scrubbing.

Step 2. Wipe the fixture clean

• Wet the towel with some water.
• Wipe away the toothpaste to reveal the shining chrome underneath.

Method 2: Remove Scorch Marks from Iron

Scorch marks on iron are never good as they’re a sore reminder of the clothing you’ve burnt over time. They also make your iron susceptible to further scorching, preventing you from getting that perfect wrinkle-free finish.

You can easily use toothpaste to clean the scorch marks from the soleplate of your iron. It contains silica that helps clean the soleplate without harming it. You can clean the soleplate of both steam iron and dry iron with this method.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Old toothbrush
• Towel
• Water
• Paper towel

Step 1. Cover the soleplate of the iron with toothpaste

• Smear liberal amounts of non-gel white toothpaste on the soleplate of your iron.

Step 2. Give the soleplate a thorough scrubbing with the toothbrush

• Scrub out the soleplate thoroughly with a soft bristled toothbrush that you no longer use.
• Wipe off most of the toothpaste with a paper.
• Pour some water over a towel to wet it.
• Wipe the soleplate with a damp towel to clean the remaining toothpaste residue.
• If you’re working with a steam iron, plug in the iron. To clean the soleplate, iron a clean cloth on steam setting till the steam starts to run clean. Be sure that you use a clean and sturdy cloth for this, that you can afford to get dirty.

Method 3: Whiten Nails

Even though nails are not the same as your teeth, toothpaste can do wonders whitening your nails. If you like doing manicures at home but are unable to whiten your yellowing nails, toothpaste offers an effective and safe solution. Toothpaste can also help exfoliate the skin around your nails. This method can come in handy if you wish to paint your long nails with clear polish.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Water
• Towel

Step 1. Massage your nails with toothpaste

• Cover your nails in toothpaste.
• Gently massage the nails with the fingers of your other hand.

Step 2. Wipe the nails clean

• Pour water over a towel to wet it.
• Wipe the toothpaste off your nails with the wet towel.

Method 4: Whitening Shoes

Toothpaste is also a great hack to whiten your canvas shoes. Keeping white shoes white can be extremely difficult. Cleaning with toothpaste is the easiest way to give your favorite white Converse sneakers a little TLC.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Old toothbrush
• Mild laundry detergent – 2 teaspoons
• Dish towel
• Lukewarm water

Step 1. Make detergent solution

• Put 2 teaspoons of mild laundry detergent into a bowl of lukewarm water.
• Agitate the water so that it turns sudsy.

Step 2. Soak the dirty laces into detergent solution

• Remove the laces from the shoes.
• Immerse the dirty laces into the detergent solution and let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 3. Scrub the white shoes with toothpaste

• While the laces soak, you can work on the shoes. Squirt toothpaste onto a discarded toothbrush.
• Brush the shoes thoroughly with the toothbrush.
• Scrub the entire surface of the shoes with the toothbrush, applying more toothpaste as needed.
• After scrubbing the shoes thoroughly, let the toothpaste rest for 10 minutes for an extra whitening effect.

Step 4. Scrub and rinse the laces

• While your shoes are having a timeout, you can clean the laces. Scrub the laces with the toothbrush to remove the dirt.
• Rinse out the laces with plain water when they’re clean.
• Hang the laces up to dry.

Step 5. Rinse and dry the shoes

• Rinse the shoes with plenty of water to remove the toothpaste.
• Dry the shoes with a dish towel.
• Air dry and lace the shoes before wearing them again.

Method 5: Polishing Jewelry

Polishing jewelry is another remarkable use of toothpaste. While acid-based tarnish removers chemically dissolve the tarnish, toothpaste simply scrubs the tarnish away, leaving behind the polished and shining jewelry.

We are polishing gold jewelry in this article, but you can also use toothpaste to clean your silver jewelry.

Step 1. Dilute toothpaste in a small bowl

• Take some toothpaste in a small bowl.
• Add an equal amount of water to it.
• Mix well to thin out the toothpaste.

Step 2. Clean gold jewelry with thinned out toothpaste

• Use a soft bristled toothbrush to scrub your gold jewelry with thinned out toothpaste.
• Rinse the jewelry with plain water after a thorough scrubbing.

Odor Removal Agent

Without your morning and night brushing sessions with toothpaste, your mouth will most likely stink to high heaven. Toothpaste is a powerful deodorizer, but keeping your mouth odor-free is not its only application. Read on to find out what else you can deodorize with toothpaste.

Method 1: Remove Odor from Bottles and Jars

While there are other ways of cleaning out smelly containers, toothpaste is the simplest way to deodorize smelly containers, including stinky jars and baby bottles. If you have some Mason jars that have become unusable because of the lingering odors, a simple cleanup with toothpaste ought to freshen them up. This method can be used to deodorize plastic as well as glass containers.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Old toothbrush
• Water

Step 1. Scrub out the inside of the container with toothpaste

• Squeeze out some toothpaste onto a discarded old toothbrush and scrub out the insides of the container.
• Be sure to brush all the crevices of the bottle or jar, at the base as well as the neck, with toothpaste.

Step 2. Rinse out the container

• Rinse out the containers thoroughly with plain water to remove the toothpaste.
• Dry and air out the containers before use.

Method 2: Remove Odor from Hands

If cooking with garlic has left your hands terribly stinky, toothpaste can deodorize your hands in a jiffy. Those who have sweaty hands can also do this to remove lingering sweat odor. If you suffer from sweaty smelly feet, then you can also wash your feet with toothpaste to deodorize them.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Water
• Towel
• Moisturizer

Step 1. Apply toothpaste to your hands

• Take some amount of toothpaste in your palms.
• Rub your palms together spreading the toothpaste all over your hands.
• Don’t forget to cover the back of your hands and between the fingers.
• Take more toothpaste if needed. If the toothpaste feels too dry to spread, you may add some water for lubrication.

Step 2. Rinse your hands

• Wash your hands with plenty of water to rinse out the toothpaste from your hands.

Step 3. Dry and moisturize your hands

• Dry your hands with an absorbent towel.
• Moisturize your hands with your preferred moisturizer.

Scratch Removal Agent

Toothpaste can act as a mild buffing agent due to the fine abrasive agents present in it. It can also fill up small scratches. This makes it beneficial to remove scratches from certain surfaces like that of car exterior and leather articles.

Method 1: Remove Scratches from Car

While you can do nothing about more obvious dents in your car, toothpaste can certainly smooth out fine scratches and nicks that mar the paint job of your car’s exterior. If you grazed your fiancée’s brand new car and that small scratch significantly stands out, toothpaste is what you can safely go for. But toothpaste only works to erase scuff marks. Scratches that go beyond the base coat will not give similar results with toothpaste.

Step 1. Cover the scratch marks with toothpaste

• Squeeze out some toothpaste from the tube.
• Spread the toothpaste over the scuff mark with your finger, covering it entirely.
• Let the paste rest on the scuff marks for 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 2. Buff out the scratches with paper towel

• Buff the toothpaste on the scratched area with a paper towel to vanish the offending marks.
• You can also use a microfiber towel to buff out the scratches.

Method 2: Remove Scratches from Leather Purse

There are so many dos and don’ts to consider when it comes to caring for leather, but you can use white non-gel toothpaste to clean scuff marks from leather. You can use this method to restore your furniture, boots, and purses. Just be sure to do a spot test in an inconspicuous place to ensure that the remedy suits the leather you’re working on.

Step 1. Cover the scratched leather with toothpaste

• Smear liberal amount of toothpaste over the scratched leather purse.
• Let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Step 2. Wipe away the toothpaste with paper towel

• Simply buff with a paper towel to wipe away the toothpaste till the leather becomes clean.

Method 3: Remove Scratches from Mobile Screen

Scratches and scuff marks on phone screens are unavoidable. Phone screens can get easily scratched with car keys, spare change, or whatever else happens to be in your pockets or handbag along with the phone. But you can easily take care of minor damage on your phone screen with toothpaste. It can easily buff out the scuffs and fill in minor scratches.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Microfiber towel

Single-Step Treatment: Buff the scratched phone screen with toothpaste

• Squeeze out pea-sized toothpaste over a microfiber towel.
• Smear the toothpaste over the scratched portion of the phone screen.
• Buff the scratched surface with the microfiber towel to remove the scratches.

Method 4: Remove Scratches from CD

You can give your old scratched CD a quick fix by buffing it with white toothpaste. The tiny abrasive particles in non-gel toothpastes can easily smooth out the scratches, minimizing the chances of light deviating from the disc reader.

Note: Do not use this method on Blu-Ray discs. Also, you need to be extra careful while using it on your DVDs.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Damaged disc
• Cotton cloth
• Microfiber cloth
• Mild soap solution

Step 1. Cover the scratched disc with toothpaste

• Clean any dirt or grease off the disc before applying the toothpaste.
• Take some toothpaste on a cotton cloth and smear a thin layer over the CD, starting from the center to the edge along its radius.
• Buff the disc with the same cloth focusing more on the scratched areas.

Step 2. Wipe off the toothpaste and wash the disc

• Soak a clean cloth in lukewarm water and wipe the dried toothpaste off the disc.
• Wash the disc with a soap solution.

Step 3. Wipe and air dry the disc

• Wipe the disc gently from the center to the edge using a microfiber cloth.
• Let the disc air dry for a while before you test it in your disc player.

Defogging Agent

Much like shaving foam, toothpaste can also be used for defogging surfaces such as glasses and mirrors. When a thin film of toothpaste is applied to such surfaces, it acts as a surfactant, reducing the surface tension of the water that condenses on such surfaces and prevents the condensed water from fogging up the surface.

As long as the toothpaste residue remains on the surface, it will prevent the surface from fogging up, so periodical reapplication may be required.

Method 1: Defog Goggles

Skiing, swimming, or snorkeling goggles can be prevented from fogging up with a little toothpaste. Be sure to use white non-gel toothpaste for this purpose.

Step 1. Apply toothpaste on the goggles

• Take pea-sized toothpaste on your fingers and apply it on the inner side of the lens of the goggles.

Step 2. Wipe off the excess

• Wipe off the excess toothpaste with a paper towel to ensure visibility.
• Reapply if the effect wears off after a few sessions.

Method 2: Defog Glass

Windows fog up easily during winters, especially car windows. Use toothpaste to defog the windows during winters.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Microfiber towel

Step 1. Apply toothpaste to the windows

• Spread a layer of toothpaste over the glass of the windows.
• Be sure to apply the toothpaste on the face of the glass that faces the interior.

Step 2. Wipe with a microfiber towel

• Wipe off the toothpaste with a microfiber towel for a streak-free finish.

Method 3: Defog Mirror

If your face has cuts and nicks and you can’t see through that fogged up mirror in your bathroom, then that tube of toothpaste in your medicine cabinet will come in handy. A fogged up mirror defeats its purpose, so get to work with some toothpaste.

Things you’ll need:

• Toothpaste
• Microfiber towel

Step 1. Apply toothpaste over the mirror

• Take some toothpaste in your hand and smear it over the mirror.

Step 2. Wipe away the toothpaste

• Wipe away the excess toothpaste with the microfiber towel for a streak-free finish and a fog-free mirror.

Tips

• Before using toothpaste to clean or polish any surface, spot test an inconspicuous area of the surface. If there is any noticeable discoloration or scratching to the surface, discontinue use.
• While removing scratches from the car, clean out the scratched area with soapy water to remove dirt and debris for best results.
• For delicate surfaces, use as little force as possible to avoid harming the surface.