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The humble toothbrush can help with a whole lot more than just your dental hygiene. When it comes to scrubbing clean some of the toughest-to-reach spots around the home, experts say it’s often an ideal cleaning tool. In most cases, even your old one will do.
Read on to find different ways you can put the household staple to new uses. (But before you go from tooth to title, consider cleaning the brush itself with bleach or dishwashing detergent to make sure you start off germ-free!)
1
Grout
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Even in an otherwise sparkling-clean bathroom, grimy or moldy grout is tough to ignore. While a grout brush is the best weapon for tackling an entire shower or tub surround, a toothbrush paired with the right cleaning solution will do the trick for smaller jobs. If you don’t have a commercial grout and tile cleaner on hand, Marla Mock, president of national housekeeping company Molly Maid, suggests making a DIY solution with equal parts baking soda and vinegar, with the optional addition of a degreasing dish soap such as Dawn “to help breakdown the buildup.” Mix the ingredients into a paste, then apply a layer onto the grout and let sit for at least five to 10 minutes before scrubbing.
Courtney Landry, product development manager at cleaning and home care company Norwex, suggests enlisting a hard-bristle toothbrush for this particular job. “Sometimes you [need to] repeat the task two to three times to fully lift the dirt and stains,” she says. “When you’re finished, rinse the area with warm water.”
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Around the laundry room
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Carolyn Forté, executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s home care and cleaning lab, suggests several ways to put a toothbrush to work in the laundry room. Washing machines and dryers, she points out, have all types of nooks and crannies that attract gunk.
Your washer’s dispenser drawer (where you pour in the detergent) should periodically be removed and cleaned, and a soapy toothbrush is a terrific tool for the job. Same goes for the frame around the lint screen in your dryer. “It’s designed crazily, with all these little spaces for the lint to get stuck in,” says Forté. Try removing it and using a toothbrush to dislodge the fuzz.
If you have a front-loading washing machine, you’ve probably noticed the rubber gasket around the door can get grimy — that’s yet another spot to clean out with a toothbrush. And finally, Forté says, you can put your toothbrush to work pretreating stains. Use it to rub a little dish soap or stain remover into the spot on your garment before tossing the item into the wash.
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Jewelry, picture frames and other delicate items
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If you have jewelry, picture frames or other fragile objects in need of a good cleaning, Mock suggests using “any old toothbrush” to ensure the smallest nooks and crannies are taken care of. In this case, a brush with gentle, softer bristles is best. Mock recommends “avoiding using any harsh chemicals or cleaners.” Instead, a mild dish soap with warm water will get the job done.
4
Computer keyboards and remote controls
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The tiny spaces between keyboard keys and TV remote buttons are magnets for crumbs and dust, especially if you eat at your desk or in front of the television. Start by giving these items a good shake over the trash bin to dislodge anything that’s already loose. From there, you can use a dry toothbrush to sweep between the buttons. Or, for a deeper clean, Forté suggests wrapping the toothbrush in a disinfecting wipe and then brushing it through the crevices.
5
Around the kitchen sink
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A toothbrush can be a great solution for scrubbing hard-to-reach grime around the kitchen sink, Forté says. Use it to get into the seams where the faucet or faucet handles meet the countertop, and around the drain. If your faucet has a detachable sprayer, don’t neglect that either, she advises: “You [usually] just take it out, spray the sink and put it back in. But if you look at it, it’s probably got a lot of residue and crusty stuff on there” — another job for your toothbrush.
Kalina Newman is a freelance writer in D.C. who covers food and culture. Marisa Kashino contributed to this report.
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