A cup of tea can be the most soothing thing to have in the morning or in the evening time after a long tiresome day or a long night. Just a few penetrating sips will change the pace of the day making you feel calm and relaxed. You can easily say it starts the day right.
What exactly do you do with your used tea bags? I guess toss them in the bin. However, there are ways that you can reuse your old teabags. Isn’t that amazing!
Your old tea bags can be used to soothe your skin, perfect for deodorizing your home and adding surprising flavors to your meals and these are only to name a few.
How Essential Are Tea Bags?
There are hundreds of other wonderful uses for tea bags. Saving and reusing your old tea bags will not only benefit your home, and your entire family but your bank account as well as it will save you a ton of cash. Here are 20 ways to reuse old tea bags in your home.
HERBS IN A TEABAG
1. REFRESHES SMELLY CARPETS
To remove the foul odor from your carpet. Open a packet of old dried teabags. Sprinkle along with baking soda on your carpet. Let it remain for 20-30 minutes. Vacuum and enjoy your clean fresh carpet.
For best results, peppermint and cinnamon tea bags are great for disguising odors. The leaves in the teabag and baking soda when combined together become a strong absorbent agent. They are sure to make your carpet smell amazing.
2. ADD FLAVOUR TO MEALS
Old tea bags can be used to make your meals tastier 😋. Believe it or not, hanging a used tea bag in boiling water to make a brew then cooking down a lovely cut of juicy steak in it will add a ton of bursting flavors. This will also make your pasta, rice, or any other food you chose to cook more favorable to the taste buds.
3. PROTECT CAST IRON COOKWARE
Using an old black tea bag to rub the exterior of your cast iron cookware will form a compound that will protect the outer layer from grease build-up, rust, and burns. Do this before you use your cookware to keep it from damage.
4. HOUSEHOLD PEST CONTROL
If you are bothered by mice and other pesky rodents. Here is a clever way to deter them. Mice just hate the smell of teabags, so here is how to use them to get rid of those little menaces.
Place your old tea bags in all the areas where you have the problem. Mice can’t stand the scent of the herbs and will keep away. You can also place old peppermint tea bags in a room to chase away spiders and ants.
5. REMOVE GREASE FROM YOUR MESSY DISHES
To remove stubborn grease from your dishes. Fill the sink with warm water. Place a couple of old teabags in the water, then place your dishes in.
Method:
Allow to soak for 10 minutes then wash with regular dish soap or place in the dishwasher for washing. This method is natural, and unlike other harsh grease stripping products, will not do harm to your ✋ or your dishes.
6. DISGUISES MORNING BREATH
Have you ever noticed that after sipping on a cup of tea your breath is left with a fresh scent? This is not a coincidence, actually, the leaves do make breath fresher. Continue to sip on that morning tea, it works.
7. FRESHEN SHOES
Placing tea bags in your shoes will absorb the bad odor. This required dry tea bags. Simply tuck 2 tea bags in your shoes overnight. The next morning remove and wear your shoes with confidence.
8. FRESHENS BAD BREATH
Simply use a couple of old tea bags to make a brew. Then use this every day as a regular mouthwash. It is natural, freshens breath, and is gentle on the gums and teeth. Remember, no sugar added!
9. HAIR CONDITIONER
The herbs in a tea bag have many benefits for your entire body. It is also great 😊 to use as a hair conditioner. Make a small pot of tea then allow it to cool. After shampooing your hair. Use this to condition your hair by rubbing it in.
The natural herbs in tea make a wonderful hair conditioner and scalp treatment. Do this each time you wash your hair. You won’t believe the results.
EXTRA TIP: Warm or hot water leaves hair dry and frizzy, as it removes all the natural oils in our hair which can be hard to restore.
10. CLOSET DEODORIZER
Using old teabags as I mentioned before on your carpet will absorb foul odors. Placing a few of your used dried tea bags in your closet will also keep it smelling fresh at all times.
Using a hanger, simply attach the tea bags using clothespins. Hang the hanger back in its place. This will give your closet a pleasant odor.
11. PRE- BREWED HAND SCRUB
Use your pre-brewed tea bags to remove the scent of food and spices from your hands. Open an old tea bag and use it as a scrub for your hands.
Great for keeping in the kitchen. It also treats your hands while you scrub. Isn’t that awesome!
12. KEEPS YOUR REFRIGERATOR SMELLING FRESH
If you are out of baking soda and your fridge needs some deodorizing. Place a few used teabags in your fridge to keep it smelling fresh.
13. PREVENTS FIREPLACE ASH FROM RISING
the winter months are right around the corner. To keep your fireplace ash from pilling up, place a few wet tea leaves around the area. This will keep the ashes down.
14. GIVE THOSE LEATHER SHOES A SHINE
Keep your dark leather shoes sparkling clean just by doing this. Use a damp tea bag (used) to wipe your shoes as you would with a regular polish. This will leave your shoes looking like new. We know how that leather is costly, so take the best care of it.
15. GET YOUR MIRRORS CLEAN
You can keep your mirrors crystal clear with this amazing cleaning trick. Double brewed a tea bag, dip a small rag in it, and use this to clean your mirrors ( BEST WHILE WARM). You will be surprised at how clean and clear your mirrors are when you are through cleaning them.
CLEANS WOODEN FLOORS
To clean your wooden floor, toss a couple of tea bags in one gallon of boiling water. Allow the brew to cool. Pour in a bucket, dip a mop in, squeeze to remove the excess water. Use this to clean your floors spot clean.
17. SPRUCE UP YOUR COMPOST
Open a tea bag and sprinkle the leaves in your compost and around the root of your plants. Teas bags are packed with nitrogen causing the carbon materials to balance in the soil. Your plants will grow healthy and strong.
18. DYE YOUR HAIR
You can use a teabag to add color to your hair. The black tea will give your hair a lovely brown color. Hibiscus tea bags will leave your hair with a beautiful red color.
Simply make a cup of tea using 3 tea bags. Allow to cool and rub into your hair. Leave in for 45 minutes before rinsing. Works best on light color hair. How wonderful is that?
19. TRASH BIN DEODORIZER
Keep your trash bin fresh for a long time with this simple trick. Place used tea bags in your garbage bin to disguise the bad odor. Teabags can also maintain the fresh odor of your bin.
20. TENDERIZE YOUR MEAT
Black tea is known by the best chefs in the world as a great source for making the toughest of meat tender. Place 3 to 4 bags in 3 cups of water.
Pour the brew along with the tea bags over the meat. Allow 2 to 3 hours to marinate then remove, season, and cook.
We hope that you find these teabag hacks as intriguing as we did. Have fun, see you soon.
