Create your own travel-size toothpaste

Last week I attended the annual Travel Goods Show in Las Vegas, where manufacturers showcase all the latest luggage and travel accessories to retailers. While I’ll have a more comprehensive report for you in the coming weeks, I just had to spread the word about my favorite discovery — it’s a DIY travel toothpaste container called Toothpaste 2 Go. Brilliant in its simplicity (why didn’t something think of this before?), Toothpaste 2 Go is a universal adapter that helps you easily transfer toothpaste from a regular size tube to a reusable one-ounce travel-size tube. Simply screw the adapter onto your favorite toothpaste, screw the other end to the travel tube and squeeze.

 Inventor Melissa Cleaver shows you how to use Toothpaste 2 Go.

All components are dishwasher safe, so you can take the tube, stick it on a spoke on the top rack and clean it out every so often. The device was created by a Houston couple who tired of sometimes spending more for those tiny travel-size tubes (markup is about 250%) than a regular 6-ounce or larger tube of toothpaste. And for those of us you favor a specific brand that doesn’t come in travel-size, you can now still bring it along on your travels. For $6.99 you get the Toothpaste 2 Go universal adapter and one reusable tube. Want everyone in the family to have their own tube? A set of three tubes is $3.99. Shipping is normally extra for orders under $15, but use the special promo code TGASHIP and you get FREE shipping no matter the size of your order.

Refillable toothpaste tube

The adapter is the secret of Toothpaste 2 Go, but the company also sells the refillable toothpaste tubes to take along with you when you travel. 

Alternatively, you can find any number of travel size toothpaste tubes at Amazon. Make sure to get a size that’s TSA approved if you plan to carry it on a plane. 

Find refillable toothpaste tubes at Amazon.com

How to pack toothpaste for air travel

Toothpaste does count as a liquid or gel when you’re traveling, so be sure to put only travel-size toothpaste tubes or refillable toothpaste tubes into your carry-on bag. When you’re packing for air travel, remember the TSA’s 3-1-1 rule for liquids that you plan to carry onto a plane:

3 – Containers of liquid or gel must be 3.4 ounces or less (that includes toothpaste). 

1 – You are allowed one 1-quart size clear plastic, zip-top bag to hold your 3.4-ounce containers

1 – Each traveler can have 1 of these plastic bags, which will go through checkpoint security.

The rules are different for checked baggage, which can have containers that are larger than 3.4 ounces. 

Can you refill squeeze tubes?

Most of us wouldn’t want to deal with the mess but in a pinch you can refill squeeze tubes of toothpaste. Just hold the two tubes end to end and squeeze. The hard part is keeping them together! 

We’ve seen hacks for making your own toothpaste refill adapters but you need power tools and a really good reason not to just buy yourself a new tube – or to buy the one already made for you by Toothpaste 2 Go!

The easiest way to refill a tube of toothpaste if you don’t have an adapter is to cut off the end (not the cap) of the tube, do your refilling, and then use a heat source to melt the plastic back together.

Of course, if you have a 3D printer, you can use this awesome Thingiverse thing number 158910: