If you are one of the millions of Americans who wear dentures, partials, or even temporary retainers, you probably have a box of denture cleaning tablets in your medicine cabinet. Denture tablets are those effervescent discs that have become the gold standard in cleaning oral appliances between uses. But did you know that denture cleaning tablets are good for more than cleaning oral appliances?
There are actually lots of cool uses for denture tablets that you may not know about. Whether you’re having trouble tackling a tough stain, or have just found yourself with way too many extra tablets after upgrading to dental implants, don’t ditch those tablets! Here are some clever hacks you can use on your denture tablets to make life easier!
1. Tomato Stains on Plastic
If you’ve ever had leftover marinara, you know the struggle. Try as you might to remove them, those red sauce stains don’t usually budge. Next time you’re faced with that telltale red ring, fill the container with warm water, and add one or two denture tablets to the mix, and let it soak for an hour or two, and the stain should come right out.
2. Dirty Vases
If you’ve ever gotten flowers in a narrow vase or beautiful vintage bottle, you probably know how hard it is to get that ring of dirt off of the inside of the bottle once the flowers have wilted. Try breaking up a denture tablet and letting it soak in the glass overnight. In the morning, rinse the bottle or vase out with warm water.
3. Jewelry
If your gems are looking a little lackluster, drop them in a glass with a denture tablet for about 5 minutes and let them soak. If any debris remains, scrub gently with an old toothbrush, rinse, and they’ll be as good as new.
4. Clean your drain
Drop a few tablets down the drain, and follow with a cup of white vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes, or until the foaming stops. Rinse with hot water.
5. Clean your dishwasher
Drop a few tablets into your dishwasher before running an empty cycle. No rinsing or scrubbing needed because isn’t that your dishwasher’s job, anyway?
6. Cleaning your toilet
Drop in a few tablets before you go to bed at night or work in the morning and let it soak. When you get back, simply flush, and your toilet will be good as new. This is a great hack for toilets that are clean everywhere else, because unfortunately, for as much as those tablets do, they won’t scrub above the water line!
7. Mineral deposits on coffee or tea pots
Can’t seem to get that white line off of your tea or coffee pot? Try soaking them overnight with water and denture tablets. In the morning give them a little scrub, and the stains should break right up.
8. Nail whitener
Things like smoking and spending too much time in the garden this spring could discolor your nails and leave the tips looking not so white. To whiten them, try soaking yellowed nail tips in a bowl of warm water with one denture tablet for about 5 minutes.
9. Brighten your whites
Do a spot test with this if you’re using two-colored tablets, but for the solid white tablets, add a few to your washing machine during your next load of white laundry for whiter, brighter clothes.
So, why do denture cleaning tablets work so well to clean these various products? For that, you can thank the mixture of the bleaching power of citric acid and the abrasive action of sodium bicarbonate. After all, denture cleaning tablets were designed to clean many of these very stains from materials just like these products!
But while these denture cleaning hacks are clever, it’s always best to use denture cleaners on dentures first and save the leftovers for household hacks like the ones mentioned above. If you’re experiencing any problems with your dentures, our office can help! To reach Dr. Hill’s office, please give us a call at 469-640-9550, and our team will get you taken care of!