Maybe you’ve removed tarnish from your silver jewelry in a pinch with an old toothbrush and a dab of traditional white toothpaste, but have you ever thought of using this medicine cabinet mainstay to remove tea and coffee stains from mugs? Or to banish the garlic scent that lingers on your fingers after mincing a fresh clove for your homemade salsa recipe?

In a recent article, Lauren Piro explains:

“Toothpaste’s main role is, of course, to leave your mouth squeaky clean and (hopefully) cavity-free. But its cleansing power and abrasive texture actually makes it quite useful all over the house.
One caveat: If you clean, shine, or solve other problems toothpaste, choose the regular white version instead of a gel, which has ingredients that may work againt your best intentions.”

Piro offers six more “ingenious uses,” some of which might translate to your household cleaning: “rub a bit of toothpaste over your bathroom fixtures with a wet sponge to get gunk off chrome,” and even to your wardrobe: “get your tennis shoes to their just-out-of-the-box state by scrubbing with a toothpaste.”

Read more of her tips in her article.

Or if you care more for your car than your kitchen, grab a soft cloth and head for your driveway.

Not my Jetta’s headlights, but a great take on toothpaste’s track record as a clever cleaning agent, courtesy of Sarah Lipoff for pop sugar.com.

This MolarMuse put a Pinterest tip for toothpaste to the test on a Volkswagen’s visual impairment– unclear headlights. The result: a brighter view.