What's the most effective type of tube squeezer?
October 11, 2022 8:28 PM Subscribe
I'm trying to be more economical in a variety of ways and would like to buy tube squeezers to use with toothpaste tubes to reduce waste to a minimum. I looked online for some and came across multiple different forms of them such as this roll-up style one and this style. What type should I go with?
Adding my vote for just using the counter. I put a small binder clip on the folded up tube to hold it.
posted by Wretch729 at 8:48 PM on October 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by Wretch729 at 8:48 PM on October 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
+1 to the view that tube squeezers both overpromise and underdeliver.
Most of the toothpaste wasted by modern plastic toothpaste tubes ends up inside the "convenient" flip-open tube caps. Unscrewing that and squeezing the last dregs directly from the tube onto the brush always gets me at least another four days' worth.
In any case, the main way toothpaste gets wasted is also the one that needs less than no effort to deal with: people have been trained by advertising to use way more than necessary. That picture on the box with a line of toothpaste the whole length of the brush is totally misleading. Load up a toothbrush with that much and most of it will just foam up and go straight down the drain in the first spit. You only need a pea-sized blob.
posted by flabdablet at 9:12 PM on October 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Most of the toothpaste wasted by modern plastic toothpaste tubes ends up inside the "convenient" flip-open tube caps. Unscrewing that and squeezing the last dregs directly from the tube onto the brush always gets me at least another four days' worth.
In any case, the main way toothpaste gets wasted is also the one that needs less than no effort to deal with: people have been trained by advertising to use way more than necessary. That picture on the box with a line of toothpaste the whole length of the brush is totally misleading. Load up a toothbrush with that much and most of it will just foam up and go straight down the drain in the first spit. You only need a pea-sized blob.
posted by flabdablet at 9:12 PM on October 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
I'm on team binder clip.
posted by aubilenon at 9:25 PM on October 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 9:25 PM on October 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
I like these Japanese plastic squeezers. They work extremely well (easy to use, minimal hand strength required, no toothpaste wasted), and they store the tube upright, which saves shelf/sink space.
posted by caek at 9:33 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by caek at 9:33 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
You need a Tube Wringer!
I have one of the heavy-duty ones, and it will probably outlast me. It's great for toothpaste, prescription medicated creams, and hand cream that comes in metal tubes.
posted by Lycaste at 10:17 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have one of the heavy-duty ones, and it will probably outlast me. It's great for toothpaste, prescription medicated creams, and hand cream that comes in metal tubes.
posted by Lycaste at 10:17 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Domestic economy, teeth 101: squeeze between a pencil and any hard flat place. Also cutting the end off and reaming out the tube with the toothbrush wins two days. Also also, keeping a wet toothbrush in the same room as an engine that generates a regular aerosol of coliform has become a hard No for me. Toothbrush and tube sit with pencils and pens in the mug on my desk and I perambrushlate round the house and yard . . . to the consternation of some visitors.
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:46 PM on October 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by BobTheScientist at 11:46 PM on October 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have a bottle of (foaming) hand soap by the sink taps. The shape of the bottle is great for squeezing the ends of a tube of toothpaste, when needed. No special gadget needed, and I get the most out of the tube, as well as clean hands.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:32 AM on October 12, 2022
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:32 AM on October 12, 2022
Type 2. Mine are rods rather than flat bars.
I got them from Amazon for something like 3 for $1.50, so cheap you could only buy them when you were buying something else too. (Do they still do that?)
posted by SemiSalt at 4:22 AM on October 12, 2022
I got them from Amazon for something like 3 for $1.50, so cheap you could only buy them when you were buying something else too. (Do they still do that?)
posted by SemiSalt at 4:22 AM on October 12, 2022
Unless you have some mobility issues that make it difficult to operate a tube of toothpaste normally, buying a tube squeezer is just creating more waste, not less. I did the math once on the break even point on the cheapest squeezers, how much toothpaste would be saved, etc and it came out to something like 10 years. Counter edge and binder clip.
posted by Ookseer at 5:14 AM on October 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Ookseer at 5:14 AM on October 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
Nth'ing the low tech solution: I flatten on the countertop with anything hard and round (sharpie, hair mousse jar, shaving cream can) then roll and clip with a binder clip. For bonus toothpaste at the very end I push on the backside of the opening while crushing the "shoulder" of the tube, yields several more days of brushing.
Also, toothpaste is like laundry detergent: everyone uses too much each go.
posted by token-ring at 6:08 AM on October 12, 2022
Also, toothpaste is like laundry detergent: everyone uses too much each go.
posted by token-ring at 6:08 AM on October 12, 2022
I've been very happy with L'Occitane's "magic key" squeezer.
posted by 10ch at 6:41 AM on October 12, 2022
posted by 10ch at 6:41 AM on October 12, 2022
I like this kind of tube squeezer for metal tubes of toothpaste, tomato paste, etc. It is not meant to be something that lives attached to the tube, but rather you run the tube through it every so often as needed. The "gears"
to a great job of grabbing the tube all the way up to the opening, and because they effectively crimp the tube closed at the bottom you don't have to worry about the tube contents getting squeezed backwards when dispensing.
posted by slkinsey at 8:54 AM on October 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
to a great job of grabbing the tube all the way up to the opening, and because they effectively crimp the tube closed at the bottom you don't have to worry about the tube contents getting squeezed backwards when dispensing.
posted by slkinsey at 8:54 AM on October 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
I love my tube squeezer! Sure I could do it I manually. I could also eat a salad with my hands. The tube squeezer is easier and better. Mine is two little rods with a rubber bands connecting them. I've never been able to find another, but this is similar. Beware the metal key style, I've broken a tube with those.
posted by umwelt at 2:36 PM on October 13, 2022
posted by umwelt at 2:36 PM on October 13, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
I've had really good results -- I think better than the tube rollers, but that depends on your hand strength being normal -- with grabbing the end of the tube and sliding it down over the edge of the counter. This flattens the tube and accomplishes the same thing, plus you have more room to maneuver near the outlet to squeeze that flat, too.
posted by amtho at 8:39 PM on October 11, 2022 [12 favorites]