A Travel Tip to Keep Your Teeth Healthy

Ever seen that Seinfeld where Jerry's girlfriend uses his toothbrush that had fallen into the toilet?  That's what came to my mind when I heard it said the other day that our toothbrush has more germs and bacteria than the toilet.  Ewww.  That reminded me that I hadn't cleaned my brush in a while so I headed it over to the dishwasher, my usual fix to disinfect my toothbrush.  Then I wondered if the hot water alone would really get rid of all those streptococci, staphylococci and treponema denticolas that were hopping around on my brush.  Hmmm, I think not.  I also got to thinking that when we travel, our toothbrushes are often 'in touch' with a lot of surfaces instead of being stashed in their normal holder. So this fix is especially important when traveling or RVing.  So what WILL get rid of those harmful, tooth decay causing bacterias.

I've heard of several options.  I saw advertised a special UV lamp that claims to ward them away.  Some people use bleach, (...in my mouth?) rubbing alcohol or dish washing soap.  After a few clicks around the internet I found this natural 'make it yourself' idea over at The Natural Singer blog.

Now, when we travel in the RV, "make it yourself" cleaners are often not practical unless you plan and make them ahead because unusual ingredients are often required and you can only carry around a small number of 'unusual ingredients' in an RV.  But every RVer has these simple ingredients in the cabinet.  And it's cheap and easy to make.

Need: Baking soda, water, white vinegar

Pour about 1/2 cup of water into a glass. Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and 2 tsp of baking soda and mix well. Place your toothbrush (es) into the glass and leave for about 30 minutes.  

Rinse well (unless you want pickled teeth.) Now you have a happy toothbrush!

Vinegar and baking soda are both effective disinfectants and, in addition to disinfecting your toothbrushes, can be used throughout your RV or home as an alternative to toxic commercial household cleaners.

Do you have any easy to make and travel with natural concoctions?  Please share them below then check out all the other comments for ideas.

Teri Blaschke is the RV Park operator of family owned HiddenValley RV Park in San Antonio, TX and writer of the park blog “A Little Piece of Country in San Antonio.” Teri contributes to various other blogs with a focus on either travel or social media and how it relates to the outdoor hospitality industry but her passion is serving the RV travel community by providing a memorable RV camping experience and growing the Hidden Valley RV family.  Connect with us on Google+, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter@HiddenValleyRV