Learn With Me: How To Clean Coffee and Tea Stained Mugs

This year I am challenging myself to learn new techniques and tricks that will help me be a more efficient cook, mom, housewife and person.  As I try these things and become successful at them, I will share them here. 

Therefore, I welcome you to my second installment of Learn With Me! 





Recently I noticed how awful all of my coffee and tea mugs have been looking.  They are full of stains and marks that cover their insides.


Every single one of my mugs looks just like this (pictured below):




Gross, huh?  The above picture doesn't even do it justice as to how filfthy they all look!   But hopefully you gain a glimpse of the ring around the rim and more.  They don't look clean at all even though I wash them and scrub them.


I couldn't take it anymore!!!  It drove me crazy each time I pulled one out from my cabinet to offer it to a friend.  So I searched for a few ways that I could clean them deeper than what my crappy dishwasher does. 

I found this helpful site called Tip Nuts.  Their first suggestion was to simply rub a few pinches of baking soda into the stained mug with a damp cloth.  I never dreamed it would work on the first try but sure enough!  Just a few rubs of baking soda with a wet paper towel and my awful stains were gone! 

A second tip was soaking and rubbing your mugs in vinegar.  However, the baking soda worked just fine for me.  I'm glad too because although I like vinegar in foods, I don't particularly like its lingering smell on items.


Now all of my mugs look like this on the inside:





WOW!  Talk about a makeover, don't you think?  Just a little bit of elbow grease and hand scrubbing combined with the power of baking soda (just 1/2 teaspoon per cup should do it!) and I've got brand-new looking mugs to drink from.  Woo-hoo! 


Okay, just to get the full effect, let's look again at some before and after photos of my tea mugs:


Before:



Rubbed with a bit of baking soda and a damp cloth, then VOILA'!


After:



They Are Now Clean and Bright!


Amazing, right!  I'm so glad I found a way to brighten up my drinking cups for when guests come over.  I never realized how mighty and powerful that powdery substance called baking soda could be!   It's great mixed in with your favorite-smelling extract (such as vanilla or peppermint) to clean your carpets and freshen up the scent of your whole house too!


I just wanted to tell you about this tip.   After all, I'm learning and I want to share the things I learn here with you! 


Do you have any easy cleaning tips such as this one?  I'd love to learn more!  I'm finding that decluttering and reorganizing things in my life makes me feel more productive and happier.