Looking for old toothbrush uses around the house? Just because it’s a bit chewed up, doesn’t mean it can’t serve a new purpose. Try one of these ways to repurpose old toothbrushes and extend the life just a tad bit longer.
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Do you really need to change your toothbrush? YES!
I am slightly neurotic about getting all of us to the dentist twice a year. Of course, at each of these dentist appointments we get a new toothbrush. That means 8 old toothbrushes need to find new uses every single year.
On top of that, I tend to replace toothbrushes randomly when they are looking particularly worn or someone is sick. I am always looking at those old toothbrushes and wondering what in the world I can do with them besides throw them away.
I decided I needed to put together a list of things that I could do with them so I can stop feeling so guilty every time one ends up in the trashcan. Once you find a new use for your old toothbrush, check out my other eco friendly bathroom ideas as well.
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10 Creative Old Toothbrush Uses
There are dozens of ways to reuse old toothbrushes instead of throwing them right in the trash. Here are just a few upcycling tips to help you get started.
Clean the dog’s teeth:
They make fancy doggie toothbrushes but couldn’t I just use one of our old toothbrushes instead? Along with some canine toothpaste I bet it would go a long way towards freshening up her breath!
Bathroom cleaning:
I know I’m not the only one who gets that nasty buildup at the bottom of the sink faucets. Old toothbrushes are great for scrubbing that away. Or, clean the toilet. Even better, make the KIDS clean the toilet!
Clean computer keyboards:
All that crud that falls in between your keys because you are snacking while you type? Old toothbrushes are great for getting into those crevices!
Scrub your nails:
After gardening I always have tons of dirt under my nails. Old toothbrushes are just like fancy nail brushes only much cheaper!
Clean your cheese grater:
I hate trying to get the cheese grater clean, especially when my wash rag just gets stuck in those sharp little holes!
Clean jewelry:
If you wedding ring is looking a little bit dull just use an old toothbrush along with some jewelry cleaner and get it looking brand new.
Old toothbrush crafts:
Hand your kids an old toothbrush, some paint and some paper and see what sort of masterpiece they can come up with. Other crafty uses for old toothbrushes include things like
- Scrub out glass bottles before upcycling them into something new.
- Clean calligraphy pen tips.
- Add texture to clay.
- Use them to splatter paint for an upcycled furniture or art piece.
- Use an old clean toothbrush as a tool to brush out or fluff flosses and yarns.
Garden markers:
Use a sharpie to write on the handle of your toothbrush and bury the ‘head’ in the soil. Now you know where your tomatoes are and which plants are your peppers!
Remove crayon marks from the wall:
Along with a bit of shaving cream, you can scrub crayon marks off the wall with your old toothbrushes.
Remove mud from the treads of sneakers:
Instead of having your kids leave bits of dried mud all over the house, clean the soles of their sneakers with old toothbrushes.
Can old toothbrushes be recycled?
So, you have run out of old toothbrush uses and still don’t want to toss it in the trashcan. Now, what? Can you recycle old toothbrushes? Colgate, Tom’s of Maine, and Preserve all have a toothbrush recycling program.
Colgate and Tom’s of Maine partner with a company called TerraCycle which recycles nearly everything. Preserve only accepts their own toothbrushes. Check out Earth 911 for more tips for toothbrush recycling.
More Eco Friendly Dental Care Tips
Clean teeth are important. However, the choices you make to GET those clean teeth do make a difference. Try an all natural toothpaste and a recycled toothbrush for cleaning your teeth.
While sometimes, you have to throw away an old toothbrush, there are plenty of ways to repurpose old toothbrushes instead of throwing them away. A well used toothbrush means you are a superb teeth cleaner. But, you can also be a superb teeth cleaner with a small carbon footprint! Have any other ways to repurpose old toothbrushes?
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
I would never have thought to use an old toothbrush on the dog! We do use them to clean jewelry.
These are some amazing ideas. I would have never though to use an old tooth brush to clean my cheese grater, they are so very hard to clean, and now it will be much easier.
Yes, we use ours for everything around the house. They make the best cleaning utensils.
I use mine for jewelry and bathroom cleaning as well!
Kas
I like the idea of using them as a garden marker or a craft tool!
I never would have thought of a few of those, like the garden tool or to clean out the cheese grater. I never thought of giving it to the kids to use to paint.
I like the idea for computer keyboard.?
I’m going to try it on my keyboard.
I use my old toothbrushes to cleans around my Kitchen Aid stove top with a little Ajax . Works great and gets into all the nooks & crannies .
That is definitely a great way to reuse them. There is never a shortage of dirty nooks and crannies!
Toothpaste can also be used to clean jewelry–better than jewelry cleaner
I have heard that… glad to know it actually works!
The white toothpaste will scratch your stones and dull them. I ruined a nice ring that way.
Thanks for the warning!
Use some baking soda and vinegar to make a paste. Put it onto the rubber on the door of your fridge with an old toothbrush, leave for 15 minutes and wipe clean with a damp cloth. Nice and clean.
My fridge really needs that! Thanks for sharing!
Use an old toothbrush to clean combs and to clean an electric shaver.
We have an electric shaver that could really benefit from that! Thanks!
I have used them for cleaning the electric shaving head, the mesh strainer for my sinks, grout, around the base of the faucets and the bathroom sink drain pipe where there may be some build up of toothpaste, face scrubs, etc.
All very good uses. I should definitely try them on my husband’s electric razor!
Good to clean the tracks that the windows and patio door slides on
Thanks for the tip! I can see why that would be helpful!
There’s only one thing better than an old toothbrush for cleaning, and that’s an old denture brush. They have two sides, a flat side and a pointy side, and you would be surprised at the places that pointy side can reach, far more than a regular toothbrush can. I even bought one especially for cleaning once (before I had to get them for myself). It’s the only kind I ever use, and the pointy side gets worn far faster than the flat side. Try it.
I think my parents have denture brushes. I will check and see if they have any old ones I can repurpose!
Since the parts of my cat’s water fountain & automatic feeder are small and need more fine cleaning, I use our old toothbrushes and pipe cleaners to clean them.
That is a great use. My daughter’s cat water fountain could probably use a good cleaning too!