You Probably Didn't Know That Toothpaste Could Do This To Mirrors

Mirrors can be a great addition to your home for many reasons, and they can be used in so many ways. While some may be purely practical — like the one above the sink in your bathroom or the full-length mirror in your bedroom — others can be used to make a room look bigger, help bring in extra light, or add a stylish touch to your décor.

If you have a few (or a lot of) mirrors in your home, do you like to keep them spotless? Or perhaps you have little ones who seem to think that brushing their teeth is a competition to see who can get more splatters on the bathroom mirror. Either way, it's not always easy to keep those reflective surfaces free of smudges, streaks, and spots.

Fortunately, we know a trick when it comes to keeping mirrors in tip-top shape. For instance, were you aware of the fact that toothpaste can be handy when it comes to taking care of your mirrors? It's true! (Frankly, toothpaste can be used in a number of surprising ways in addition to keeping your teeth cavity-free: it can make your sink sparkle, get crayon marks off of your walls, polish up metal, make water rings vanish, and even clean up a gunky iron, per BobVila.com). But that's not all, as toothpaste can do something very cool to your mirrors. Read on to find out how it can help — and how you can use it in your own home!

It can be unbelievably irritating to try to keep your mirrors clean only to have them fog up every time you or someone in your home takes a hot shower. Fortunately, you can use toothpaste — yes, toothpaste — to keep your mirrors from getting foggy. According to Nationwide, you can simply use a tube of non-gel toothpaste to transform your mirrors into pristine reflective surfaces that won't be affected by a steamy room.

Why does toothpaste help? Pleasanton Glass explains that toothpaste — as well as shaving cream, laundry detergent, and soap (which can all be used to ward fog away from your mirrors) — are surfactants, meaning that they won't allow particles of water condensation to form. Because those particles can't cling to the mirror, fog doesn't build up.

If you want to take advantage of this handy trick, then all you need to do is spread some non-gel toothpaste on your mirror before cleaning it off with a cloth. Although it's just that simple, you might want to be careful. Pleasanton Glass also notes that toothpaste residue can cause your mirrors to end up a little cloudy, and anything with some grit in it might mark up the glass. Beyond that, not everyone will see the same results. However, this could still be something that you want to try out if foggy mirrors are a persistent problem that you face.