Recycle Old Toothbrush with These Five New Uses

Dentists recommend that a manual toothbrush should be replaced every three months. Great for the teeth, not so great for the landfills. Keep those still good-for-something toothbrushes out of the landfills by using some of these five recycling ideas.

Grooming Aids

Clean old toothbrushes and use them to groom eyebrows and fingernails. Stash a clean toothbrush with your makeup and use it to tame those wayward eyebrows by applying a dab of petroleum jelly to the toothbrush's bristles and groom eyebrows into place.

Put a dab of liquid soap on the bristles of an old toothbrush and use to scrub garden dirt or motor oil out from under fingernails. After walking barefoot outdoors or wearing flip-flops, use and old toothbrush and soap to clean under toenails.

Clean Keyboard

An old toothbrush will remove built-up gunk between the keys on your computer's keyboard. Turn off the keyboard's power and lightly dampen the bristles and scrub between each key, spray debris away with a can of compressed air and the keyboard will look like new.

Veggie Scrubber

When you want to leave the peel on certain vegetables, like potatoes, carrots and squash, you can wash them squeaky clean by recycling an old toothbrush into a veggie scrubber. The bristles also make quick work of removing silks from fresh ears of corn.

Clean Kitchen Utensils

Remove every last bit of cheese hiding in the cheese grater by scrubbing it with an old toothbrush. The garlic press, can opener and a host of other small kitchen utensils can easily and safely be cleaned with an old toothbrush. The long handle of the toothbrush allows you to reach into nooks and crannies without exposing hand or fingers to any sharp edges.

Dip the bristles of an old toothbrush in a bleach and water (50/50) solution and scrub and disinfect around the tops of an under mounted sink or around the edges where the counter and sink meet on a traditionally mounted sink. Both spaces harbor germs and tiny food particles and toothbrush bristles are the perfect tools for dislodging them and cleaning the away. Scrub and disinfect tile grout in the kitchen or bathroom the same way.

Laundry Helper

Keep an old toothbrush in the laundry room to help remove stains. Apply stain remover to the garment and use a toothbrush to gently work the stain remover solution into the fabric to help get the stain out.