As a rule, you should change your toothbrush every three to four months or as soon as the bristles are frayed or bent. This is because bent bristles won’t clean your teeth well and may injure your gums.
But don’t throw away your old toothbrush yet. In this age of recycling, it can still serve you for many years in ways that you probably never imagined.
To get more bang for your buck and help the environment, here are some practical ideas to extend the life of your old toothbrush. Admittedly, this list is incomplete since others may have their own unique ways of recycling toothbrushes.
Before using your old toothbrush, remember to disinfect it by soaking it in a bleach solution. This will help stop the spread of germs. Next, label the toothbrush with a permanent marker. Write “cleaning brush” so it won’t get mixed up with other brushes.
Your old toothbrush can be used to clean the bathroom faucet and the space between tiles. In like manner, it can tidy up the kitchen sink or remove grease and dirt from tools, furniture or benches.
But that’s not all. Did you know that a toothbrush can scrub dirt off potatoes and other vegetables and fruits? Don’t overdo it though or you might end up with a lot of squashed vegetables! Better still, avoid using it on soft skinned fruits.
Your toothbrush can also remove those hard to clean areas of windows like the corners of panes and other areas where dirt can accumulate. It is also an excellent tool in cleaning silver and the space between forks.
Have your fill of pizza and huge cheese toppings with your family or friends. After you eat, don’t forget to clean the cheese grater with your toothbrush.
For the computer whiz, tidy up that dirty keyboard with a toothbrush. But don’t use it on your flat monitor unless you want to leave scratches on it! Toothbrushes are likewise a blessing to the electronics hobbyist. Here’s why:
“Old toothbrushes can be used to desolder electronic components if you don't have a solder ‘sucker’. Using a soldering iron, just heat the solder joint you want to remove the solder from and then, as quickly as you can, use the toothbrush to brush the solder out of the joint and away from the component. Be sure to remove any and all of the solder you have brushed out from where it splashes in the surrounding circuit area or you can use a cloth or paper to cover the area in the direction you plan to brush the solder to act as a shield. This desoldering method works surprisingly well and you can get quite a few uses from the toothbrush before you have to replace it due to melted bristles,” according to the editors of WikiHow.Com.
Dirty shoes? Weep no more. A toothbrush can clean mud off the bottom of your shoes or the poop of any animal for that matter. In the case of the latter, throw away your toothbrush afterwards.
Add sparkle to your jewelry with an old toothbrush. Use it with an inexpensive toothpaste to clean gold and silver. After gardening, clean your fingernails using a toothbrush. Do the same with the battery terminals of your car, firearms or to remove those fine hairs from your electric razor.
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