One reporter has been able to remove months’ worth of tea stains in just 5 minutes
Tea cups can sometimes be a pain to clean, and it can sometimes feel like no matter how much you put them in the dishwasher or wash them by hand, you can’t get all the stains out.
It’s the tannins in tea and coffee that are responsible for the brown stains these drinks leave in their mugs.
Tannins are plant compounds found in tea and coffee (and some other foods and drinks) and are what give these hot drinks their distinctive, slightly bitter flavour. Mostly, tannin stains are not an issue, they’re just unsightly and tricky to clean.
And while they might difficult to clean, Daily Express reporter Angela Patrone has found the perfect solution, and it works in just five minutes.
“The product in question is citric acid,” writes Angela. “The acidic nature worked well to dissolve the stains in my cup that had built up for about 11 months.”
Alongside its cleaning potential, citric acid has natural antibacterial properties and will sanitise the mug as well as lift away the stains.
Explaining how she used citric acid to clean her coffee mugs, Angela continued: “With this citric acid method, there was no scrubbing needed at all and was pretty quick – the longest part was waiting five minutes for the cleaning solution to work its magic.
“All you need for this method is a tablespoon of citric acid and boiling water at the ready. I streamed by adding the critic acid to the stained mug before adding in boiling water – you only need enough to cover the stains.
“As I had stains that had taken over higher up inside the cup as well as the base, I filled the entire mug with the boiling water.
“I checked in on the cup after three minutes but noticed the stains were still there. However, after a further two minutes, the stains had vanished.
“I then rinsed out the mug with hot water from the tap and washed it as usual with some washing-up liquid. The cup was completely clean without a single brown stain left behind.”
She finished: “While this method is effective, it’s not my number-one go-to household remedy.
“For those after a quicker solution, then need to give denture tablets a whirl as they work in three minutes and sometimes less.”
