What to Do with Old Toothbrushes

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

09 Apr 2007 07:39 PM

Hate to throw anything away? You'll love these ways to reuse old toothbrushes. Some of these ideas are very practical, while others are pretty funky. Enjoy!

We go through a lot of manual toothbrushes in our household. My husband, especially, is very hard on toothbrushes. After a few uses, his toothbrush resembles a porcupine having a bad hair day. I do like to save a couple of the old toothbrushes for cleaning around the house. In fact, old toothbrushes can be used for cleaning lots of things, such as:

• Window screens
• The area around faucets. Hard water spots and soap buildup can be scrubbed away in no time.
• The bottoms of shoes and boots to remove mud and dirt before entering the house. (This is especially important for us here in the spring.)
• The computer keyboard. Why buy that expensive "canned air?"
• Bicycle chains. Whether you need to degrease them or scrub off a little surface rust, an old toothbrush can do the job.
• Jewelry, especially rings with diamonds or other stones. An old toothbrush can get in between the settings when you use your favorite jewelry cleaner.
• Combs and brushes. Just wet the toothbrush first.
• Corners and other nooks and crannies in your home, such as near the baseboard.
• Miniblinds

Of course, if your house is like mine, even after using them for cleaning, you'll still have more old toothbrushes than you know what to do with. One really funky idea is to turn them into jewelry. Yes, this can actually be done. And, if your toothbrushes happen to be the kind that are fancy with extra grips or decoration on the handle, you can get some interesting effects.

Here is what you can do to make a slew of bangles and bracelets from old toothbrushes. Simply boil the toothbrushes until you can easily pull out the bristles. Next, boil the toothbrushes some more until they become flexible. Using gloves, wrap the now soft toothbrush handle around a can or jar to get a round shape that will fit your wrist.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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thequeenofthecastle (413) 01 Nov 2008 10:56 AM

As soon as I saw this article I thought of the toothbrush bracelets. I remember making these when I was a tweenager, and I thought they were just about the coolest thing EVER!. Thanks for the walk down memory lane and a great reminder of a fun use for old toothbrushes.

Mary Ann Romans (26876) 02 Nov 2008 05:41 AM

You are so welcome. You don't happen to have any photos of your bracelets do you?

thequeenofthecastle (413) 26 Jan 2009 11:51 AM

Sorry, I don't think I do have any pictures of them. It was a season of our lives where my parents were very busy and took very few pictures. I guess I'll just have to make some new ones.. :)