Adults should replace their toothbrushes every 3-4 months or as soon as the bristles show sign of wear and tear. But what do you do with all your old toothbrushes when it’s time for them to go? Do you throw them away? Or do you find ways to repurpose them?
We certainly do! Old toothbrushes come in very handy around the house. I don’t remember when was the last time we just threw an old toothbrush into the bin without repurposing it first and saving a bit of money, time and effort in the process. While reusing old toothbrushes is not a huge money saver, having such a small brush at hand will allow you to clean those hard-to-reach areas in and around your home with very little effort.
I normally soak the toothbrushes in very hot water for at least half an hour before rinsing them thoroughly and allowing them to dry completely, preferably in a sunny spot. It’s good to get rid of any residual toothpaste before you start reusing the toothbrushes. I’ll then wash them as needed later on.
Here are a few ideas for you to try. Use a toothbrush to:
- Clean hard to reach areas in your bathroom such as sliding door tracks and inside the sink drain. The toothbrush can be very effective here!
- Scrub your fingernails after a hard day’s work in the garden. An old toothbrush will do the job just as well as, if not better than, a store-bought brush, but it won’t cost you anything extra.
- Clean your computer keyboard. If you’ve ever felt the frustration while trying to clean in between the keys on your keyboard then you’ll be amazed at the results you can get just by using an old toothbrush instead. Those bristles really do get in between the keys.
- Clean your jewellery & polish small silver pieces. A cloth or a sponge will often not do the trick, but a toothbrush definitely will get into those hard to reach spots, especially on smaller items.
- Clean the grater. Have you ever tried to clean your grater with a sponge but had it shred the sponge to pieces instead? Next time, try an old toothbrush and you’ll be impressed with the results. I keep at least one toothbrush in my kitchen just for this!
- Clean your sewing machine. As you sew, fluff will inevitably collect around the needle and the easiest way to clean this fluff is by using an old toothbrush – it will all disappear with just a couple of strokes.
- Clean buttons and knobs on kitchen appliances. This is one of my favourite uses for an old toothbrush as it cleans those awkward little buttons and knobs like a pro!
- Clean your coffee grinder. I often use my coffee grinder to grind sesame seeds, flax seeds, etc. but then need it spotless clean before I throw in some coffee beans again. A dry toothbrush will dust off that very last speck.
- Clean your car engine with an engine cleaner for those hard to reach nooks and crannies. My husband uses an old toothbrush for this all the time and swears by how effective it is.
- Clean the mud off your shoes. Let the mud dry on your shoes completely and then use an old toothbrush to scrub the dirt off. No more messy hands and cloths for this one.
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I feel like a soul sister 🙂 I never ever throw away my old toothbrushes and I use them just as you do.
My husband and my dad used to use old toothbrush to dye their beard and moustache.