17 alternative uses for toothpaste, from bee stings to cleaning rings

Toothpaste cleans and polishes your teeth and freshens your mouth but it can also be added to your arsenal of cleaning supplies to polish, shine and freshen a whole host of other things. For these applications, skip the fancy toothpastes and stick with the white paste kind. Here are 17 alternative uses for toothpaste:

1. Clean ceramic cook tops. Who knew? I actually tried this and toothpaste works at least as well as those expensive ceramic cook top cleaners.

2. Remove crayon from painted walls. Put some toothpaste on a damp cloth to clean the wall, then rinse.

Wish I'd known about this when my daughter was three and decided to draw huge crayon circles on a bare living room wall. It can also take stains out of carpets and clothes. As some toothpastes contain bleaching ingredients, you might want to try it on an inconspicuous spot first to make sure it doesn't take the color out of whatever you're cleaning. For a carpet, use a scrub brush with the toothpaste, then rinse. For fabric, apply the toothpaste directly on the stain, rub briskly and rinse. Repeat as needed. It might not work for all stains or on certain fabrics.