Ten Unexpected Uses For Teabags

Ten Unexpected Uses For Teabags

Sure, that box of Lipton can be great when you want a cup of tea in the morning, but those bags can actually be good for a whole lot more than drinking. From relieving pain to cleaning furniture, here are a few unexpected uses for those tea bags in your cabinet.

Image via flickr.

Freshen Your Fridge

Has your fridge started to get a little stink on it? Take your used bags from your morning tea and place them in a cup or bowl inside your fridge for a few days. The bags will absorb the orders and get your fridge smelling fresh and clean again.

Freshen Your Bin

The fridge trick also works for your garbage bin. Make sure the bags are dry before you drop them in the bottom of the bin, or they will start to mould and become part of the problem rather than the solution.

Marinate Meats

You’ve heard of marinating meat in beer and wine, right? You can also do the same with tea.

Flavour Rice

In addition to flavouring meats, tea bags can also be used to flavour rice. While you’re preparing rice, hang a bag inside the pot so it co-mingles with the water. The result will be lightly flavoured rice that is oh so good. I recommend orange blossom for this one, but almost any type of flavoured tea will do.

Relieve Tooth Pain

When a chipped tooth of mine became infected last summer on holiday, I managed to make it the week until I could go and see my dentist thanks to a box of Chai tea bags. Placing a tea bag over an abscess can help draw out the infection and reduce pain. It isn’t a substitute for going to see the dentist (you should definitely do that ASAP!), but it can help you power through the pain until your appointment comes.

Ease Sunburn Pain

That same theory also works when it comes to sunburn. Applying a wet tea bag to burned skin will help ease pain from sunburn as well as things such as stings and abrasions like razor burn.

Wash Your Dishes

Have a particularly troublesome pile of dirty dishes? Soak the dishes in the sink with a tea bag or two inside. The tea will help break down stuck on grime and grease and will make scrubbing much easier.

Clean Your Carpet

Use loose-leaf tea to gently deodorise your carpet. If you don’t have any loose, you can cut open a tea bag and sprinkle its context on your carpet. Leave the leaves for 20 or 30 minutes and then vacuum up.

Soak Your Feet

Tea can work as a natural way to soften calluses and deodorise your tootsies. Add a tea bag or two to a bucket of warm water, put your feet in, and sit back and relax.

Clean Wood Furniture

Tea can actually work as a solid furniture polish replacement. Use cool, freshly-brewed tea (I recommend peppermint) to wipe down table tops and mop floors. The tea helps cut through dirt and grease. Once you wipe it down, use a dry cloth to dry and buff the area. Like any new furniture cleaner, try this one out on a small spot of your table before going all in, just in case there are any issues.


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