There is nothing more frustrating than noticing a drop of toothpaste on your shirt during the early morning rush. When this happens, your first thought is to remove the shirt, dump it in the laundry basket, and change it into another.

That is ok, but if you still love the shirt and do not want to leave a permanent stain, you might want to rethink and take these steps to remove the stain.

As soon as you notice the stain, do not panic and rub in the toothpaste; it will be harder to remove if it gets deeper into the fibres of the fabrics. Take these steps to remove toothpaste stains on clothes.

1. Cleaning out the toothpaste

  • First, remove the toothpaste off the cloth using a dull knife or cutlery
  • As much as you want to take off most of the residue, you have to be careful not to rub in the toothpaste or damage the cloth by puncturing holes in it.
  • The longer the toothpaste remains on the shirt, the harder it will be to remove the stain, especially if the toothpaste contains bleaching agents (Hydrogen Peroxide)

NOTE: Before going on to the next step, check the cloth tag to ensure it does not state ‘dry clean only.’ If it does, you might have to leave it to your dry cleaner to handle to avoid making it worse.

2. Blotting out the stain

  • Get a white cloth or handkerchief that can blot out the stain (the cloth should have a light material so that it can easily absorb the stain). Do not use a dark cloth so that it does not wash off and add to the satin.
  • Dip the cloth into cold or warm water and blot out the stain on the cloth.

NOTE: If the stain does not go out completely, it means you will need a detergent to remove it; this happens if the toothpaste has titanium dioxide powder in it, which will cause it to leave a white stain on the clothing.

  • Rinse the area with water and air dry it. Do not blow-dry as the heat might cause another stain on the cloth.

3. Washing it out

Using a little bit of detergent does not hurt; this will prevent any permanent stains that the water and cloth didn’t clear off. You can do this by;

  • Soaking it in warm water and detergent. The warm water helps the detergent penetrate the fabrics and removes any remnant of the toothpaste.
  • Or add little soap or detergent to a bowl of water, dip a piece of clothing into the water and use it to clean off the stain.
  • Air-dry afterward.

Other Products That Can Remove Toothpaste Stain

  1. Lemon Juice: Lemon is acidic, and it can dissolve some compounds in the toothpaste, take a fresh lemon and cut it into two. Rub the pulp side on the toothpaste stain for about half a minute. Since the lemon will only dissolve the toothpaste compounds, you still need to wash it out. You can do this with any detergent powder. Then rinse and air dry.
  2. Olive oil: Pour a little amount of oil on the stain, then take a mixture of water and detergent and pour it on the stain to wash off the oil stain.
  3. Vinegar: Vinegar is good for stains on clothes and good to remove any foul smells from it. You can add a few drops of vinegar to the soaked cloth with detergent, or you can treat the cloth with little vinegar before washing it off.

NOTE: The cloth must be air-dried after any of the processes because putting it in a dryer or any form of heat might cause the stain to be ‘baked’ into the cloth.

How to Remove Toothpaste Stains from Carpets and Other Household Items.

Just like getting the stain off clothes, the process for getting off household items is the same; the only difference might be the detergent used. While dealing with carpets and furniture, use milder soaps like dishwashing liquids.

  • Scrape the toothpaste off the carpet; you can do this with a butter knife or spoon.
  • If you are in a hurry, you can blot out the stain with a damp white cloth, do this carefully to prevent the stain from covering more area.
  • Add the dishwashing detergent to the water.
  • Using a sponge or a soft brush, wash out the stain with the detergent solution prepared. If a sponge or brush seems harder to use, pick up a white cloth and clean off the stain until you are sure no stain is left.
  • You will still need to rinse it out to prevent another form of stain on it; this will be done using a white cloth, dipping a clean white cloth in clean water, and cleaning off the soap residue.
  • Air-dry it if you can or use a vacuum cleaner. Do not expose to heat or direct sunlight.

Toothpaste stains are not hard to remove, and it also depends on the content of the toothpaste. If your toothpaste contains Hydrogen Peroxide, you might want to take fast action to prevent it from bleaching your cloth or dark carpet.

If it contains Titanium dioxide, using plain water will not be enough; adding detergent to the water should do the trick, or giving it to the dry cleaners will save you the stress.

A few times, coloured toothpaste might leave a deeper stain; bleach will come in handy here; using a drop of hydrogen peroxide should bleach out the stain. (Bleach should only be used on light materials). The cloth should be sun-dried after bleaching.

The stain might not go out at once even after trying all the methods here; repeat it a few times until it is completely gone. Or take it to a professional dry cleaner and point out the stain and let them do their magic.

Next time, you might want to be careful and brush your teeth before getting into the shower or before getting dressed.