Did you know that toothpaste expires? That’s why there is an expiration date on each tube of toothpaste. It’s not an indication of when your toothpaste becomes dangerous to use. It just shows you when your toothpaste ingredients lose their potency. Just because toothpaste is expired doesn’t mean that you have to throw it out though. There are a lot of other ways you can put this product to work. Here are some things you can do with expired toothpaste, courtesy of our Michigan family dentist office.
Clean Shoes
You can use expired toothpaste to polish scuffs off your leather shoes. Just make sure that the toothpaste you are using does not contain any bleaching ingredients. This could damage the coloration of your shoes. Apply the toothpaste with a soft cloth onto the scuff mark you are trying to remove. Then wipe it off with a damp cloth. After a little scrubbing, your shoe should be good as new.
Soothe Burns
If you get a small superficial burn from a hot pan or something else along those lines, you might be able to use toothpaste to soothe the burning sensation. One of toothpaste’s primary ingredients is eucalyptus oil, which has proven to be a great ingredient for soothing burns. Put a dab of toothpaste over the burned area for instant relief.
Treat Insect Bites
The same eucalyptus oil in toothpaste that can be used to treat burns can be used to treat insect bites as well. This ingredient will soothe the itchiness that comes along with insect bites, namely from mosquitos and ants. If you don’t have any aloe vera in the house, consider this as a suitable alternative.
Clean Walls
You could use expired toothpaste to clean scuff marks and crayons off your walls. This will work especially well if your walls are glossy or semi-glossy. You can use an old toothbrush to scrub off the toothpaste, or you can enlist the help of a standard scrub brush. For small scuffs, you might be able to get away with using a simple washcloth.
Remove Gunk
You might be able to clean the gunk off your clothes iron or hair straightener with the help of a little toothpaste. This will be safe to use on metal as long as you clean it off before heating the metal back up again. Make sure that the iron you are cleaning is cool to the touch before you start, and then get to work scrubbing off that goop you can never seem to remove.
