Tooth paste squeezer

in this instructable il show you how to make a tooth paste squeezer in very little time with very little money.

Step 1: All you will need

all you need is:

-2 small and thin elastics
and
-2 cotton swabs(i just edited this because cotton swabs are flexible so you can also use nails)

Comments

[iectyx3c]

Excellent - this gets my VOTE. I even made it - though I used a clothespin instead of nails or swabs. It really works great!

[Miss Misery]

Yes! This clothespin version gives me really, really good ideas. Thank you! And as for all you saying that it's so much easier to use your hand or the back of a toothbrush, I think you have too much time on your hands. These 'silly' devices are useful to those of us who have to squeeze and run and worry about flattening later when we have a moment. And those of you saying you can just buy them at Walmart or Big Lots well, what are you doing on this website-- particularly this instructable? This is here to help people make useful stuff with things they have around their house. It's for people who don't like buying what they could make in the same time as it would take to go to the store-- and for people like me who don't have monies :(

[rodneybones]

I didn't have any cotton swabs handy, so I used a long bobby pin and a rubber band. I put this on a tube of cat hairball remedy. The stuff is absurdly expensive, and I was frustrated at not being able to get the last bit out of the tube.

Thank you so much for this excellent idea and for helping me save some money!

[Morrissex]

Why not using "acoclips" (they're called so in my country. I dunno how they are called there)?

Pic:

http://www.librerialuces.cl/images/2646.jpg

[jblanton1]

I've always just used the handle of the toothbrush while having the toothpaste tube on a flat surface (countertop, tile wall, etc). Kind of squeegee the toothpaste towards the opening in the tube with the toothbrush handle.

[ac1D]

This is ridiculous..

*Run in the bathroom to get his toothpaste tube*

[Win Guy]

Now why didn't I think of that?! lol 5/5 Love it!

[MicioGatta]

It's just so great and so simple! Thank you!

[blbakke]

Here's a great link to Consumer Reports on how much toothpaste etc gets wasted
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/money/2009/09/dont-throw-out-that-toothpaste-tube-so-fast.html
Also, you can search eBay for         toothpaste squeezer     and find a few good ones. Or search bing.com for toothpaste squeezer and there is a way to get an 8% discount on some squeezers listed right now on eBay.
"Waste not, want not."
Bruce

[GianniMora]

sweet

[Javin007]

Hrm. I tried this, and all that happened was the Q-Tips bent to the shape of my tube.

[Powerpointed]

ya i noticed that so i edited the instructable and changed it for nails

[lianebrbz9]

Woow this is a great idea

[chaderoo2]

It is way cheaper than buying the pro. ones, but I like bruce miller and f5mando's better.

[sambeano]

or since i bought some professional ones at walmart i could just use them

[Arbitror]

This is a great idea! Five Stars! *****

[li789]

i don't have small rubber bands, can i still use regular size rubber bands

[Powerpointed]

well, small rubber bands are more efficient but you could probably use normal ones. If you have latex rubber bands(the ones for braces)they would work well

[Belisama]

I don't know which is worse: the fact that people took the time to write 75+ comments debating the relative merits of this method, or the fact that I took the time to read them all. I have a solution for all of you: enter the 21st century. I don't know if you know this, but you can now buy toothpaste in tubes that stand up, and even small bottles that are very easy to squeeze. The things they think of nowadays!

[mchammer98]

Face Palm

[chefmichel]

Very good tip. I simply cut the tube open, there is always enough paste for 1 or 2 toothbrushes. This can be done with all creams and lotions.

[DallasDeckard]

Yes, but then you leave that paste exposed to the air/environment in a bathroom/water closet... ew. I'd rather do this than expose that paste to the bathroom air, and water splashing up from people washing their faces. Also, who wants to get toothpaste all over some scissors? Or using knives in the bathroom to cut open tubes? This is the better, cleaner, more efficient method.

[ac-dc]

You are continuing to take really simple things and try to imply they are a problem when they are not. If your bathroom air is nasty enough you can't expose toothpaste to it for a few seconds at low airflow rate just to get the toothpaste out, it is an area unfit to breath in at all, which is a ridiculous situation or suggestion. If you can't stop splashing water everywhere, just learn to live in a house instead of a barn. Most people don't have this problem or change their ways. Ooooooh! Toothpaste on scissors! Get real. It rinses off, it's not like this is a daily ritual, it is a trivial difference in effort or problems compared to any other method. Are you afraid of knives? We use them to cut food many times a day, and find them highly portable so if one can walk to a bathroom, it is fairly straightforward and simple to carry a knife to one. Put simply, you are not sane. Over your entire lifetime you have already wasted more effort writing about silly things than the difference in squeezing a toothpaste tube. I write this "being nice". Some people just can't accept they are wrong or putting ridiculous amounts of effort into things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things. It is a toothpaste tube. Reality 101 is calling, will you answer the phone?

[pie popper]

gr8! I've needed one of these for years! keep it coming!

[Powerpointed]

please vote please please vote if you did ill vote for yours

[funky monk]

you could just use the handle of a toothbrush like most people

[DallasDeckard]

Yeah, but that keeps unrolling. You have to keep rolling up the tube, because you can't leave the toothbrush in there, you're using it. Even if you did leave the toothbrush in, it would unroll without something holding it in. No, this is the better idea. Toothbrush is fine, but this is much better.

[ac-dc]

Not much better. I use the handle of a toothbrush then fold the tube from the end in small 1/4" lengths Instead of rolling it, until it almost reaches the full area, then I keep it folded by putting a paperclip on it. This works much better without keeping a fiddly Q-Tip on, and Q-Tips are not rigid enough to squeeze as much toothpaste out, they will leave some in the whole tube so you have to do it all over again at the end of the tube. Lastly, even if you just use a finger to squeeze the tube you can get within less than 1% toothpaste remaining when you throw it away. That's only pennies worth of toothpaste, how much is your time worth doing that and how much were the Q-Tips, rubber bands, and time writing about it worth? Another way to do it is not worry about remaining toothpaste at all till it's almost empty, then just put it on the counter and roll a pen along the length of the tube to get the rest to the end. That way the pen is reusable as a pen, no Q-Tips or rubber bands wasted, and with today's fancier sculpted toothbrush handles a pen does a better job than a toothbrush handle.

[Powerpointed]

your right the q-tips are not rigid thats why i CHANGED it for nails

[DallasDeckard]

I don't want to go to all that trouble of folding, folding, folding a toothpaste tube. Each time you squeeze the paste out, it pushes right back down the tube and you have to rake it AGAIN. And now we're going to the office supply store? Uh, no.

If you use the Q-tip correctly, say holding it as you push it up the tube, it is *plenty* strong enough.

The reason this is great is because, it is easy, it's stuff you already have, and you can toss it with the toothpaste when you're done, or just use it over. Using your finger does NOT leave "less than 1%" in the tube, and it requires that you keep doing it, because the paste drifts back down the tube each time you squeeze more out, something that *doesn't* happen with the Q-tip device. The Q-tip device holds it from drifting down the tube, and it doesn't require folding, folding, folding, and squeezing, and re-squeezing, and re-raking over and over and oh lord... on and on.

Doing the other method, not worrying until it's almost empty, is fine, but as I said, the paste then drifts BACK down the tube each time you squeeze some out, and you find yourself raking it on the counter edge, or with a pen over and over and over.

There is no "waste" with Q-tips, as you can use them over and over. Also, Q-tips are meant to be used once and then thrown away, they are biodegradable in a few short months (or years). In fact, you can toss them in your compost heap and they will add aeration to your material.

Paper clips *aren't* biodegradable and can't be used in your compost heap. Of course, you can use them over, just like you can use the rubber bands over again. No need to "waste" rubber bands. However, rubber bands are also compostable and again, add aeration to your material. Paper clips RUST on countertops, they are not the kind of thing you want to be bringing into your bathroom, same with ink pens that can easily leak ink all over you, your clothing, your countertops and whatnot.

With this method, there is no need to drag office supplies into your bathroom, pens that can leak and get ink on your hands or clothing, or paper clips that can catch on your clothing or RUST on your counter tops. Ugh. No, the Q-tip and rubber bands device is a much better idea, must less messy and potentially VERY messy than dragging ink pens and rusting paper clips into your bathroom.

Think before you do stuff like that.

[ac-dc]

I have done this for years, it is less trouble than your method. No you do not have to deal with it pushing backwards each time because the tight folds and paperclip keep that from happening. You write it is great because it uses stuff you have, but who does not have a pen or toothbrush handle, and a paperclip? It doesn't matter if a paperclip is biodegradable, only that you have a spare one, which can be used over and over for years so there is no waste. Paper clips do not significantly rust unless sitting in water, you are totally wrong as I have used paperclips for many years! Rolling an ink pen on a tube is not likely to leak ink, any moreso than using an ink pen to write with which plenty of people do successfully. Ink pens tend to leak when subject to pressure or heat, in a pocket or car, or if the cartridge was pressurized at the factory, but if it really worries you then you could always use one that is empty instead of throwing it away. I feel you cannot accept there is a better way and have sealed your fate by suggesting someone wasn't thinking when they have the proof of doing it successfully. Sorry but not all ideas are the best ones including Q-Tips to do this.

[DallasDeckard]

I have used paperclips in the bathroom, they rust. Sorry, but they do. This isn't MY instructable, I only know it works because I have used it. Ink pens leak, and have no business in the bathroom. If you want to put office supplies in your bathroom, fine, have at it. You start mixing, toothpaste, water, and all the stuff that is in the bathroom with ink pens and paper clips and sooner or later you'll have a mess. I don't think we need to use language such as "sealed your fate".. haha! Is this an instructable for Knights of the Round Table? This isn't a life or death situation, ac-dc. We're not curing cancer here, buddy. Try lightening up and getting some perspective. If this method doesn't work for you, great, use your own. But how about omitting the life or death language... mmmmk?

[ac-dc]

Mine haven't rusted, I recommend you don't get them wet, or if your exhaust fan is insufficient to keep moisture down that may be the problem instead but if that is the problem then other metal in the room will rust too, and your electrical outlets will degrade so the best answer is fix the problem, paperclips don't rust in the right healthy environment, plus mold growth is much lower if you avoid excessive humidity too. As I wrote, what I suggested is what I have done for years. The fate you sealed was to try and imagine arguments against something another person has done well for years without any of the problems you implied to try and make your idea seem better. Fate isn't life or death, "life or death" is life or death. Perhaps it was your fate to come here to find out a paperclip does a great job on toothpaste even if you had assumed otherwise.

[DallasDeckard]

Water is splashed up on the counter when you wash your face, or brush your teeth, when the toothpaste can easily be on the counter, so... this isn't about the "moisture content" or "excessive humidity" in my bathroom. I've had metal objects in my bathroom, such as paperclips, and they rust. There is a lot of water in the bathroom, hence the name: *bath*room. Metal objects rust when exposed over time in the *bath*room. Q-tips don't. It's the better solution. When you speak of my fate being sealed, sorry but that is very fatalistic language that is ill-suited in use about tubes of toothpaste. I could just as easily say that you are close-minded to any solution other than your rust-possible paper clips. It goes both ways. I never said that a paperclip couldn't do a great job, in fact I said if this doesn't work for you, great, use your own way. If you want to keep folding and folding the tube, and replacing your paperclip each time, have at it. However, using comments like "sealing your fate" is overkill. You can spin it however you like, but language like that is very connotative and has no place in an instructable talking about toothpaste tubes. It's just toothpaste pal, take it easy. Clearly you're not reading what I write. I wrote: "I have used paperclips in the bathroom, they rust". So, you are incorrect in assuming that I "assumed otherwise". Perhaps you should do more reading of what I say, and less "assuming" what I mean?

[ac-dc]

I don't know what to say except, don't make a mess. I've never had a problem with them rusting, if I had I wouldn't have suggested it. However, if you really can't keep the toothpaste from getting wet you might try a plastic, vinyl coated, or stainless paperclip instead. It seems a bit overkill though, as with high humidity if water gets splashed everyone it will be harmful to more than just a paperclip and other things are more of a pain to replace than a paperclip if such a tragic thing happens as it rusting eventually. I suppose anyone can find a way to take something easy and make it hard, but if it is hard then there are larger problems than the paperclip itself. It looks less ghetto too, to have a neatly folded tube instead of Q-Tips and a full length flattened tube, and if you are splashing water the Q-Tips will soak it up and grow mildew which is unhealthy to handle right before brushing your teeth. Hopefully you won't splash water on them either but if it's a problem it is less healthy to have mildew than rust, which again can be avoided if necessary by choosing a paperclip not as prone to rust. I think we are beating a dead horse and you totally overreacted to a phrase like sealing your own fate. This is not a kung-fu movie, take it in the context it was written in which was about squeezing toothpaste tubes, lol.

[DallasDeckard]

I think the only one that overreacted was you, by using the "sealing your own fate" comment. Pot calling the kettle black, in my opinion. One thing you are right about, this is beating a dead horse. And on that note...

[karossii]

I think that one or both of you are a bit obsessed here. Though I do agree with ac-dc; if you use your fingers to squeeze the tube, making sure to run them from the empty tip to the bulk of the toothpaste each time you use it, you never have to worry about it. Only those who squeeze from the middle have issues and need silly devices to help them get all of the toothpaste. I wouldn't put any numerical quantification on it (such as 1%), but the amount left in the tube when used "properly" (as defined by the manufacturers) is so insignificant that any time or device wasted on recovering it is... a waste. Additionally, while the bathroom is a bit more humid than the rest of the house, that is why you (should) have ventilation fans in there - it isn't for stinks, it is for humidity. And unless you're overly careless or purposefully playing in the water, you'll not have significant splashing of water droplets anywhere to cause rust on anything in the bathroom. My razors never rust, my wife's hairpins never rust, and the specific item at hand, the few paperclips which are in my bathroom (yes I have some - it is my wife's doing) have never rusted.

[DallasDeckard]

We're obsessed, and you wrote all that? Haha. This device works, and works well. It is not just for people who "squeeze from the middle". Way to jump in at the end of a debate and stir it up again. What next? Kick a man when he's down? Sheesh.

[ac-dc]

Dead Horse

[techdude54]

i usually like 5 minute project but im starting to like the 3 second ones as well