4 things you can clean with toothpaste and 3 metals that you can make shine again

Toothpaste is one of those products that can be found in all homes: essential for oral hygiene, it can also prove to be and excellent aid in house cleaning, thanks to its versatility and its high cleaning and whitening power.

Whether in paste, gel or with microgranules, toothpaste is a product specially formulated to carry out a whitening and anti-stain action on our teeth and also prevents bacterial build-up. These properties can also be exploited profitably in our homes, to clean and whiten various objects, including metal objects.

We suggest below 4 things you can clean and 3 metals that you can bring back to life using toothpaste.

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Let's start with 4 things that you may not be able to clean in any way other than with toothpaste:

• Floor joints and grouting: how difficult is it to get grouting back to its original white (or light) color? It's virtually impossible! Toothpaste is the ideal solution to this problem. Mix it with sodium bicarbonate in equal parts and, when you have got a homogeneous paste, apply it on the joints of your tiles and/or grouting by rubbing on with a small brush;
• Sneakers: sneakers with white soles tend to get gray with use. In this case, you can mix toothpaste with baking soda in equal parts, to make a cleaning paste. Scrub the entire sole with the paste, using a brush and remove any excess with a paper towel;
• Walls: if you have marks and scuffs on the walls and you don't want to repaint the whole house, try using toothpaste. Simply apply it to the marks and leave it to act for at least 5 minutes; then remove with a damp cloth.
• Baby bottles: you know that residue that stays in bottles despite washing? You can remove it easily, sanitizing it at the same time, by rubbing the residue vigorously with a brush to which you have applied some toothpaste (preferably one with microgranules). After cleaning, rinse thoroughly several times with hot water.

We now show you 3 metals that you can easily restore thanks to toothpaste:

• Silver: despite regular cleaning and polishing, silverware can easily tarnish and turn black. To remove oxidation from silver, simply apply toothpaste by rubbing it on with a sponge and leaving it to act for 10 minutes before rinsing off with warm water and drying with a soft cloth.
• Clothes iron: if the sole plate of your iron is encrusted with limescale, clean it with toothpaste. With an abrasive sponge or an old toothbrush, distribute the toothpaste on the still-warm (not hot!) sole plate of the iron, then wipe off with a damp cloth to remove all the grime and limescale.
• Stainless steel: even stainless steel can benefit from cleaning with toothpaste. Sinks, hobs, ovens, pots and pans can easily get scratched, but it's easy to make them look like new again if the scratch is only superficial. With a microfibre cloth or cotton wool ball, spread toothpaste on the scratched surface and leave it to act for 10 minutes before wiping it off.

Did you already know about any of these remedies?