Brown stains on a tea or coffee mug can appear difficult to get rid of, but luckily there is a quick natural cleaning solution which only takes five minutes.
Mugs can easily become stained due to tannins, which are found in tea leaves and coffee beans and attach themselves to hot surfaces, especially on common mug materials such as ceramic or porcelain.
Rather than spend ages scrubbing away at mugs, you can get rid of “stubborn” stains on “older, dinger and dirtier” mugs using baking soda.
Sarah Ummyusuf, an expert who specialises in chemical-free cleaning and the founder of Natures Nurture explained that she has tried many methods but baking soda is the “winning product”.
Baking soda is abrasive, which helps physically loosen stains, and is also alkaline, which helps break down acidic substances like tea and coffee stains making it a very effective cleaner.
READ MORE: ‘Effectively’ clean teacup stains without vinegar or bleach – ‘no need to scrub’
How to get rid of mug stains using baking soda
To try out this method, all you need is baking soda, warm water and a washcloth. Place some baking soda into a dish, wet your cloth in the water and combine to form a paste.
Sarah explained: “I put some baking soda into a shallow dish, wet a washcloth with very warm water (I tried with cold water, it didn’t work as well), dipped it into the baking soda to make a paste, and got to scrubbing.
“Just a couple of quick scrubs, and I was already seeing those stains magically disappear!
“This of course got me super excited, which made me work even more diligently, and I had those mugs cleaned up in no time – seriously, it was less than five minutes!”
The stains will lift within minutes and all you have after scrubbing is to give them a quick rinse under running water and put them away.
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In Sarah’s comment section, users were thankful for the easy solution but other people also shared their own cleaning tips for getting rid of mug stains.
One user said: “Great idea!!! Here’s another solution and perhaps without the scrubbing. Put a denture tablet or two in a bucket (I use an ice cream pail) with warm water– add cups and walk away for a few hours. You will be amazed at how clean they have become.”
Another person commented: “I use a spoon of vinegar and hot water to clean the stains. After sitting a minute wipe with a cloth and the cups are clean!”
Someone else wrote: “Lemon juice for tea stains, so simple.”
