I was moving out of an apartment and the lease said “fill all nail holes.” I had maybe thirty pinholes from hanging pictures. Buying a tub of spackle, a putty knife, and sandpaper for thirty pin-sized holes felt absurd. A friend told me to use toothpaste. I thought she was messing with me.

White toothpaste fills small nail holes in white walls perfectly. It dries hard, it’s white, and it sands smooth. For pinholes and small nail holes on white or off-white walls, it is genuinely as good as spackle and costs nothing because you already have it.

How to do it right

Use white toothpaste — not gel, not the stripey kind, not anything with sparkles or “cooling crystals.” Plain white paste. Squeeze a tiny dab onto your fingertip and press it into the hole. Use way less than you think. A pea-sized amount fills five or six small holes.

Smooth it flat with a finger, a credit card, or a damp cloth. Let it dry for about an hour. It shrinks slightly as it dries, so if the filled hole still shows a little divot, add a second tiny dab. Once dry, it’s hard and can be painted over if you happen to have touch-up paint. If not, on a white wall, it’s basically invisible.

I moved out of that apartment and got my full security deposit back. The landlord never noticed.

When not to use toothpaste

Holes bigger than about a quarter-inch — toothpaste will crack as it dries because it shrinks. Use actual spackle for anything larger than a nail hole. Colored walls — white toothpaste on a beige or gray wall will stand out like a polka dot. If you don’t have touch-up paint, spackle at least dries paintable.

Also: bathrooms. Toothpaste is water-soluble when wet. If the filled hole is in a humid bathroom, the toothpaste will eventually soften. Bathroom holes = spackle.

Quick comparison: toothpaste vs spackle

Spackle is objectively better — it doesn’t shrink, it’s paintable, it works on any color wall, and it handles larger holes. But for a dozen pinholes on a white wall in a rental you’re moving out of tomorrow? Toothpaste is faster, cleaner, and costs nothing. I keep a tube of cheap white toothpaste under the sink specifically for this now.

• Best for: Pinholes and nail holes on white/off-white walls
• Use: Plain white paste toothpaste — not gel, not striped, not sparkly
• Dry time: About 1 hour. May need a second dab if it shrinks
• Avoid: Holes >1/4 inch, colored walls, bathrooms (humidity dissolves it)