Last Updated on July 24, 2015 by Diane Hoffmaster
I am one of those people who cannot walk by a selection of tea without buying some. Loose tea, tea bags, green tea, herbal tea and just about every flavor combination you can imagine…my tea cabinet is always well stocked. Since I am always looking for creative ways to use the things I already have, I decided to start researching uses for tea besides just drinking it with my breakfast. I was honestly shocked at how many uses for tea I found! If you are a tea fanatic like I am, here are a few uses for tea that you may find helpful.
10 Uses for Tea Besides Drinking It!
1. Clean wood floors: The tannins in the tea help shine and add a touch of color to wood floors. After cleaning your floors with your normal cleaning procedure, brew a large pot of tea. Steep it a while so it is nice and dark if you have darker wood floors. Mop onto your wood floors and let dry.
2. Clean mirrors and windows: Fill a spray bottle with cool, brewed tea. Spray on dirty mirrors and windows to help shine and remove greasy finger prints. Wipe with dry cloth or paper towel.
3. Clean toilet stains: Toss a few used tea bags into your toilet and let sit overnight. The tea will help remove stubborn stains from your toilet bowl.
4. Sooth a sunburn: Fill your tub with cool water and let a few teabags soak in there. Set yourself in the tea bath and sooth your sunburn.
5. Use as an exfoliant in soap: Adding the contents of a few unused teabags to homemade glycerin soap will provide a nice, rough texture to help slough off dead skin cells while showering.
6. Add shine to your hair: This is one of my favorite uses for tea. Steep a cup or two of tea and let cool. Bring it to the shower with you. After washing, pour the tea over your hair and let sit for a few minutes. Rinse and dry as usual. The tea will help add shine to your hair.
Plant a Teabag Garden!
7. Sprout seeds in used tea bags: You can create a teabag garden by tucking seeds into a wet teabag. Keep them wet by watering lightly every day. If you are looking for uses of tea in the garden, you can compost them or make a chamomile garden spray to use as an insecticide.
8. Remove the stink from feet: Pour a few inches of warm water into the tub or a small basin of water. Let a few tea bags steep in there. Soak your feet to help remove odor. If that doesn’t work, try these homemade sneaker sachets for your shoes.
9. As a meat tenderizer: If you have a tough cut of meat, soak it in tea before cooking to increase it’s tenderness.
10 Add to a wood smoker: If you enjoy smoked meats on the grill, add some tea leaves to it for a unique flavor.
I had no idea that it could clean toilet stains! I have to try that!
I have never heard of most of these uses. I definitely want to try planting a tea bag garden!
I had no idea it had so many uses. I need to try it to help keep my house clean.
What interesting tips. I had no idea Tea could be used in these ways. I think you can use damp and cool green tea to help with under eye puffiness.