The Unexpected Hack People Use To Clean Plastic Patio Furniture (& Does It Work?)

Toothpaste also contains surfactants (foaming and cleaning agents) like sodium lauryl sulfate and stain-removers or brighteners like dimethicones, papain, and sodium bicarbonate. Yup, all that and more is in toothpaste; if it gets your pearly whites looking, well, pearly, imagine what it can do for your patio furniture. Any toothpaste should work, but the old-fashioned white paste should give you the best results. Plus, it’s the cheapest option. Walgreens sells a tube of Pepsodent Complete Care for $1. Tom’s of Maine Whole Care Natural Toothpaste is $12.19 for a 3-pack on Amazon. If you have super-stained furniture, look for an affordable toothpaste with stain-removing additives, like Colgate Total Advanced Fresh + Whitening, $6.01 at Walmart. It has a high RDA score.

Squeeze out just a dab of toothpaste — say, a pea-sized amount — onto a soft cloth or rag. A microfiber cloth is helpful here. You can also spot clean stains with toothpaste. To eliminate watermarks on your furniture, for example, really work the toothpaste into stains by rubbing the cloth back and forth over one spot. Use your garden hose, a bucket of water, or even a watering can to thoroughly rinse the toothpaste off the plastic furniture. While the fresh, minty smell is pleasant in the bathroom in the early morning, it’s a little off-putting when sipping an iced tea on the patio after a day’s hard yard work. If stains or scratches linger, repeat the process.