When I moved out of my last apartment, I had a wall full of picture-frame nail holes and no time to run to the store for spackle. A friend told me to just use toothpaste. I laughed, then I did it, and the landlord never said a word.

Why it works

White toothpaste dries hard and roughly matches white or off-white walls. It’s not a real repair, but for small nail holes and pinholes it fills the gap and disappears from a few feet away. That’s all a quick touch-up needs.

The method

1. Squeeze a little white toothpaste onto your finger and press it into the hole.
2. Scrape the excess flat with an old card so it’s flush with the wall.
3. Let it dry for an hour or two. It shrinks slightly, so add a second dab if the hole isn’t filled.
4. Dust it or dab matching paint if you have it. Usually you won’t need to.

Know its limits

• It’s for tiny holes only. Anything bigger than a pencil eraser needs real spackle.
• Use plain white toothpaste. Gel and colored toothpastes dry wrong and stain.
• It’s a move-out or stopgap fix, not a permanent one. For a home you own, do it right.

For a dozen pinholes before a security deposit walkthrough, it’s perfect. The tube cost me nothing I wasn’t already brushing with.