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Brush up on your Knowledge and Waste!

Wed, 3rd Aug 2016

Today people are becoming more and more informed about the environment and the impact that human wastage is having on our earth. We have heard ways of reducing our impact on our environment such as walking to work, buying environmentally sustainable products, saving electricity and water and so on.

But what exactly is the correlation between our oral health and the environment?

Brushing our teeth is a daily routine that we all do twice a day, morning and night that keep our mouths fit and healthy.

Despite this, the shelf life of your average toothbrush is a relatively short one. So what happens to your toothbrush once it’s lying there next to the sink, bristles warn and well and truly brushed out?

The oral health foundation has looked into this and found that many of us (4 out of 5) re-use our toothbrushes for alternative purposes.

These include cleaning bikes, tiles, toilet seats and computer keyboards; well this looks promising doesn’t it? However, although most of us at some point use our old brushes for odd jobs, many of us (59%) end up throwing them in the bin.

This means that during the course of a typical lifetime, you will have over 300 toothbrushes each! Now this is a significant number of products disappearing into our waste.

Over 4 billion plastic toothbrushes are manufactured every year, and they all invariably end up polluting our oceans.

So what can you do at home with your unwanted toothbrushes?

Here are just a few ideas, see what else you can think of!

Use as all-purpose cleaners

Don’t throw out your old toothbrushes. Instead, use them to clean a host of diverse items and small or hard-to-reach areas and crevices.

Use a toothbrush to clean artificial flowers and plants, costume jewelry, combs, shower tracks, crevices between tiles, around faucets, and stove burners. And don’t forget the seams on shoes where the leather meets the sole.

Brush your cheese grater

Give the teeth of a cheese grater a good brushing with an old toothbrush before you wash the grater or put it in the dishwasher.

Remove tough stains

To remove those deep stains, try using a soft-bristled nylon toothbrush, dabbing it gently to work in the stain-removing agent (bleach or vinegar, for example) until the stain is gone.

Clean and oil your sandwich maker/ waffle iron.

A clean, soft toothbrush is just the right utensil to clean crumbs and burned foods from the nooks and crannies of a waffle iron or sandwich maker. Use it to spread oil evenly on the surface before the next use.

Well hopefully we have got you thinking about your toothbrush a little further than just brushing your teeth.

See what creative ideas you have for old toothbrushes and share these ideas with your family and friends.

And of course, make sure you keep brushing your teeth!!!

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