"Plus, it left this weird cloudy residue that took forever to clean off."
Yeah, toothpaste can be tricky like that... it's abrasive enough for minor polishing, but the additives (especially whitening agents) can leave residues or even damage sensitive surfaces. Good call recommending proper screen polish instead. At least your mugs are sparkling clean now, right? 😉
Haha, reminds me of the time I tried the toothpaste-on-headlights hack. My old car had these foggy headlights, and someone swore toothpaste would clear them right up. Well, it sorta worked... but I ended up with that same cloudy residue you mentioned:
"Plus, it left this weird cloudy residue that took forever to clean off."
Spent more time scrubbing off toothpaste than I would've just buying a proper headlight cleaner. Lesson learned, toothpaste stays in the bathroom from now on.
I've tried the toothpaste thing too, and yeah, same cloudy mess here. But weirdly enough, toothpaste actually worked wonders on my scratched phone screen. Just a tiny dab rubbed gently in circles, wiped clean with a microfiber cloth... scratches were noticeably less visible. Guess it depends on the surface?
"Spent more time scrubbing off toothpaste than I would've just buying a proper headlight cleaner."
Haha, been there—sometimes DIY isn't worth the hassle.
Does toothpaste really help with phone screens? I'd be worried about damaging the coating or something... Has anyone checked if it's actually safe long-term? Seems risky to me, but maybe I'm just overly cautious.
I've actually tried the toothpaste hack on my old phone screen (yeah, budget-conscious here, so no fancy screen replacements for me). It sorta worked? Like, it reduced some minor scratches a bit, but honestly, I wasn't blown away. The thing is, most modern phones have that oleophobic coating to prevent fingerprints and smudges. Toothpaste is abrasive—mildly abrasive, but still abrasive—so you're basically sanding down that coating when you use it.
Long-term effects? Can't say for sure scientifically, but after a couple of months my screen seemed way more prone to fingerprints and smudges. Not catastrophic damage or anything, just mildly annoying. If your phone's already older and scratched up anyway, I guess it's worth a shot. But if it's a newer model with a nice coating...maybe stick to proper screen protectors or tempered glass instead. Cheaper than replacing a messed-up screen later on (trust me, learned the hard way).
