I’m a tea drinker. No, not an iced tea fan but rather a cup of hot tea lover. Ever since I was little spending Friday night to Saturday at my Grandma’s tea has been a part of my life. We’d get up super early, sit at her kitchen table while she put the kettle on and put some bread in the toaster for us. We’d have hot tea with 2 cubes of sugar and milk. Grandma never used regular sugar; only ever cubes for tea. She used to say “we don’t have money honey but there’s something fancy about using sugar cubes in tea”. She’s right, it just was…fancy.
As time went by I acquired my favorite mug. Now this mug is only EVER to be used for tea; nothing else. Why? Cause it’s my tea mug; geesh. LOL On the converse if you’re in my house and you grab MY mug um… yeah, don’t grab my mug. It’s nothing fancy. It’s just plain white, holds 20 ounces though I only put in 12 ounces of water at a time; really nothing special. But it’s my mug.
However through the years the inner wells began to stain badly. Tea and coffee does that. This drove me crazy as no matter how hard I scrubbed I couldn’t get the stains out. Sure I could use bleach but um.. I drink out of that mug so no bleach for this girl. There just had to be a better, SAFER, way to get rid of the stains. Well there is and I’m sharing it with you today!
On this week’s edition of Tuesday’s Tip with The Kitchen Whisperer I’m going to share with you how to EASILY remove Tea and Coffee Stains from your favorite mug without any harsh chemicals.
All you need is some plain white vinegar, baking soda, water and a soft scrubby sponge (heck a dish rag will work too!)
Here’s how to remove those stubborn stains:
- Wet the inside of your mug with water.
- Sprinkle in 2 teaspoon of baking soda.
- Cover the top of your mug with your hand or a lid just so you can kind of shake/coat the inside of your mug with the baking soda.
- Let it sit for one minute.
- Next pour in 3 teaspoon white vinegar. It’ll bubble up and then die down.
- Once the bubbles die down pick the mug up and slowly roll the liquid inside the mug to coat the sides. Essentially you want the vinegar to touch where ever the baking soda is – make sure your stains get hit with the stuff. Don’t worry if you can’t get them all.
- Next take your soft scrubby sponge and dip it into your vinegar baking soda mixture and wipe down the inside of your mug. The stains will just wipe off.
- Empty out your mug, wash with your dish detergent and voila! No more stains!
My favorite mug comes out beautiful and shiny every single time!
amber says
What a good tip for cleaning! I am also a tea drinker, and have always wanted to be a coffee drinker, but sometimes just can’t stomach it. My mom is a tea drinker, and got me hooked on it 4-5 years ago. Now it’s a daily ritual. I rotate through favorite tea mugs… usually depending on the season, and my mood. I’ll try these tips for cleaning my mugs though! thanks 🙂
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Amber! This was a lifesaver for me as I LOVE my mug!
Best Kitchen Wishes!