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Getting that last drop of toothpaste

By Rain Noe - April 22, 2008

in Object Culture

Being an ID major makes being poor fun! That's what we told ourselves as indigent art students, inventing creative ways to get the last iota of toothpaste out of the tube. Anyone who's dedicated time to this activity discovers a shocking amount of extra brushing sessions hidden in that seemingly flat foil wedge.

Methods we experimented with: flattening the tube between a 2x4 and the sink top, the "triangle fold," mashing the tube flat with a ball-peen hammer (not recommended!), and cutting the tube open with a straight razor to scrape out the last 12 cents worth of fluoride goodness.

If we had access to tooling and start-up capital we'd have designed a product to solve the problem. We'd also have found quite a bit of competition--click the link below to see what's out there.

The Squeezit seems to be the most popular judging by weblinks, though it does have the damning "As Seen on TV" label that makes one think of bed-mounted shotguns and the Flowbie. (Source.)

The Toothpaste Squeezer is backed by a lifetime warranty--which saves you the hassle of trying to locate a Toothpaste Squeezer service technician, in the event this device with one moving part somehow breaks down. (Source.)

The Rolling Toothpaste Squeezer and Hanger Gadget has been rated 4 out of 5 stars! Admittedly, those rankings come from only two customer's reviews. And one of the customers said the $2.57 device should be "cheaper"--he must be an ID student. (Source.)

These promotional toothpaste squeezers can be custom-imprinted with company logos and surprise marriage proposals. Then again you have to order a minimum of 125, so if you're doing the proposal thing you'll have to cast a pretty wide net. (Sources 1 and 2.)

The Toothbrush with a Detachable Toothpaste Squeezer & Flexible Tongue Scraper Holder features a built-in toothpaste squeezer, tongue scraper holder, and detachable brush head. Why does it detach? So you can swap it out for "other oral hygiene implements." Unsurprisingly, this one is still in the patent stage. (Source.)

Allegro Medical's Tube Squeezer is the least offensive-looking of the bunch, with that clean hospital aesthetic. It's a "turn-key operation." (Source.)

Ableware's Easy Out Tube Squeezer has "a unique feature allows the last drop to be squeezed from the nozzle of the tube after the tube has been expelled up to the collar." Unfortunately they dont' tell you what that feature is, and it sure as heck isn't obvious from the photo. We hope they fire their marketing person. (Source.)

Eggmix's method on Instructables yields impressive results and doesn't require you to buy anything. And as you can see, the resultant tube looks like it can now be used to split atoms.

The apparently Mick-Jagger-inspired "Lip-o-Suction" we saw on BoingBoing a couple years ago has, we think, been discontinued; finding one for sale is harder than getting Stones tickets.

Gill Mechanical Co's Tube-Wringer is our hands-down favorite. Plastic version, photo above. Sure it's intended for paint tubes, but the metal version, photo below, puts the "industrial" in industrial design. Plus they sell it at art stores, like this one.

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Clark Brace

8 years ago

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I helped design this new squeezer, takes the Gill device and adds an ergonomic handle and deflector so the tube doesn't hit your hand when you use it. See it in action on our website, http://yourbigsqueeze.com/ or on Kickstarter, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/413405237/big-squeeze-the-first-ergonomic-tube-squeezing-too?ref=nav_search

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Judy

10 years ago

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Back in the '50s when Spam canned meat came with a "key" to open it, my Mom saved the key, cut the tube bottom at a small angle & slipped the tube into the slit. Worked great & a fine piece of recycling for so long ago.
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Kamlesh Vikamsey

11 years ago

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Use a rolling pin from kitchen & keep the tube on a flat surface & start rolling from the back of the tube towards front. This pushes all the remaining paste from back of the tube to the front.
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Bruce

12 years ago

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For more choices, search for Toothpaste Squeezer on Ebay. (Full disclosure: We have squeezers for sale there).
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long sleeve polo shirts

15 years ago

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Now those are some interesting gadgets! That's funny I was just trying to get the last bit out of my toothpaste and now I saw this blog, lol!
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Ken

16 years ago

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I use scissors... free and efficient... you can actually see that no toothpaste is left in the tube...

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[in]sane...

16 years ago

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I use my own hands and the tooth brush and it works perfectly well!... and free!!!
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Attila

16 years ago

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I have the Squeeze-It for over 10 years! its the best
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Nicholas

16 years ago

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There's actually a cheaper/easier way to get even more. Use your toothpaste as normal. Once you've squeezed every bit you can out of it, grab a pair of scissors and cut the tube in half (horizontally/short ways.) Now open up either end and wipe your toothbrush in there. With the tube squeezed to death, you can easily get 2 more brushes out of it. Be sure to wipe your toothbrush into any nooks or crannies, there's tons of tooth paste that's left in them.
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ck

16 years ago

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I actually bought a couple of the clear plastic style at a dollar store years ago, I think it was made in china...
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Prescott Perez-Fox

16 years ago

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I agree, SqueezeIt (and the similar Lips concept) is the best solution because it's the simplest. Considering it has no no moving parts and costs $0.59 at Wal-Mart, it's a pretty complete solution for this nagging problem.
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Janet

16 years ago

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I use a version similar to the first one. It's difficult to get on the fresh tube of toothpaste initially, but it definitely works!
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