Thrift stores are great spots to furnish your kitchen. Unfortunately, some items — especially dishware — are prone to stains and markings that won't budge when you try to wash them off.
Luckily, there is a way to restore your used plates to a good-as-new gleam.
Thrifter and furniture restorer Tyson (@tysoncurates) shared a video of how she removes scratches from thrifted dishware using nothing but toothpaste and baking soda.
"I've been wanting to find a good method that worked for me for getting these silverware marks off of plates," Tyson says in the video while grabbing a white porcelain plate off of a thrift store shelf. Though relatively clean, its surface is criss-crossed with gray scratches that won't yield to a sponge and dish soap.
"[One] way I came across was using toothpaste." The video shows Tyson applying and scrubbing toothpaste using an old toothbrush.
"I ended up adding a little bit of baking soda just so it got a really good scrub because this plate was really bad off," she adds, continuing to scrub in the toothpaste and baking soda.
After rinsing off the plate, the marks were nearly invisible. "It worked well, not perfect, but it feels good knowing I saved something that might have ended up in the landfill," Tyson said.
Thrifting allows you to stock your kitchen with unique, affordable, and environmentally friendly appliances and dishware. Instead of spending a fortune on brand-new plates, your local secondhand store likely has full sets of lightly used dishes for substantially lower prices. Buying secondhand also keeps these items out of landfills where they could pollute the air, soil, and water.
Commenters were thrilled to find a way to get rid of these pesky marks.
"Ohh this is a good tip for next time! I usually pass on plates like this," one user shared.
"Brilliant!! Thank you for sharing! I come across gorgeous dishes that have these markings on them and always have to pass. This tip is so helpful!" another added.
"Genius!" added a third person.
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