The 1p hack to banish stubborn tea stains from mugs – without scrubbing
Stubborn tea stains can be unsightly, but luckily one expert has come to the rescue with a simple yet effective solution to banish them.
If you love your daily cup of coffee, you know how difficult it can be to remove brown stains from your mugs. This is due to tannin, a vegetable substance found in coffee and tea.
Even if you wash your cups often, residue still sticks to them. Luckily, though, there’s a simple fix that only takes 30 minutes, and no scrubbing is required.
Wendy Graham, a sustainability expert and writer on household cleaning products, revealed how she is tackling the problem with a £2 ingredient that costs just a penny per use.
Writes on her website Moral fibersaid the whiz kid: “I love a cup of tea and I have noticed that no matter how well and how often you wash your cups and mugs, they often get tannin stains.”
Luckily for us (and Wendy), she has found a natural solution that will remove the stubborn stains in half an hour.
The secret, she explained, was to use soda crystals, also called washing soda, which you can buy from places like Ocado for £2 and B&Q, where a 1kg bag sells for £2.50.
These crystals form when salt water is mixed with limestone, resulting in a natural stain remover that is free of harsh chemicals.
The guru instructed: “Simply add a teaspoon of soda crystals to the cup and then fill the cup or mug with boiled water straight from the kettle.
“Stir to dissolve the soda crystals and let the solution soak in the cup for at least half an hour.”
Wendy raved about the 1p hack, saying it’s such a great way to remove stains in a “non-toxic” way that she doesn’t even recommend other methods.
“Nothing else I have found is as effective as soda crystals.”
Shoppers can find these crystals in most supermarkets, such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda, or buy them in bulk from Amazon.
After the 30 minutes have passed, drain the solution and wash the mugs regularly with dish soap and water.
If any stains remain, a regular scrub brush or scouring pad should do the job. For more stubborn stains, let the mugs absorb the solution longer, even overnight if necessary.
Not completely convinced? There are more methods that one guru, Lynsey Crombie, also known as the Queen of Clean, has shared, including denture tablets.
She also recommended: “Use Astonish Clean & Revive, which will make your mugs look brand new.”
However, if you want to use a more natural solution, the pro advised that ice and salt work well together to remove stains without having to scrub.
For this method, simply pour salt and a few ice cubes into the mug and wrap it in cling film before shaking it well to loosen any stains.
Lyndsey also suggested using vinegar in your cups and letting it soak for ten minutes before rinsing to remove stains, the reported. Emphatic.
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