An Easy Salt Hack Can Help Get Rid Of Tea Stains In Mugs (But There's A Catch)

Picture it: It's a beautiful morning and you walk into the kitchen to start your morning ritual with a hot tea. You pull a clean mug out of the cabinet, flip it over to make your drink, only to see that it's stained. Uh oh. But tea stains don't mean that you're doomed to never drink out of a clean cup again. All you need is some ice and one powerhouse cleaning ingredient that's already in your pantry: salt.

Thanks to its neutral, mildly abrasive nature, salt is a powerful cleaning ingredient that can be used to get rid of grime, dirt, and, yes, tea stains on mugs. Plus, it has antibacterial and absorbent properties that make it a great cleaning ingredient to keep on hand. If you want to get those faint coffee or tea stains off your mugs, add 4 teaspoons of salt, 1 cup of crushed ice, and 1 tablespoon of water in a lightly stained mug and mix with a spoon so the salt and ice rub against the stains. Once the stains are cleaned off, wash and rinse the cup thoroughly to make sure your next cup of tea isn't salty, then dry. This method works for light stains, but it takes a little more effort to brighten up cups with deeper stains.

Thanks to salt's abrasive nature and the additional scrubbing power from the ice's coarseness, this cleaning hack is perfect for getting rid of light tea stains. But if your mug has deep brown stains or hasn't been cleaned in a while, you may need a little more cleaning power. Luckily, there's a few different options to help get rid of those stains.

First, try adding a teaspoon of dish soap to the ice and salt hack above. Dish soap is designed to break down coffee and tea stains without damaging your mug. Or try adding lemon juice. Lemon is a common household cleaning ingredient thanks to its citric acid and can help amplify salt's attack on the tea stain. Baking soda is another great option to clean tough stains. Just mix a few tablespoons of baking soda with water to make a thick paste, then rub it all over the cup's stains. Let it sit for an hour, then use the scrubbing side of a sponge to rub it in. The stain should lift right up.

Is your cup too stained to reuse? Don't throw it away! Try repurposing the mug around your home for cute, functional decor.