Banish stubborn tea stains with one item from your laundry cupboard

As a nation of tea lovers, many of us will have been witness to some tea-stained mugs. More than 100 million cups of tea are drunk in the UK every day, according to the International Tea Committee. And with the average Brit consuming around two to three cups of tea per day, it’s no wonder our mugs might get stained from time to time.

Tea and coffee contain tannin, which gives it its colour. Over time these can build-up on teacups, mugs and teapots, especially if they aren’t cleaned straight away. But luckily, there are things you can do to clean the stains and make them look as good as news.

TikTok cleaning sensation Ann Russell recently shared her top tips for this on her @annrussell03 account. The professional cleaner responded to a video of someone asking for help removing stains from a mug which was bought 32 years ago, which was badly stained.

In response, Ann said: “Tea stains can be surprisingly hard to get rid of.” But there are a number of things you can try.

But instead of going out to buy specific products that claim to be able to remove tea stains, Ann says you can just head over to your laundry cupboard. She said: “First thing, laundry detergent, or if you’ve got it, Vanish or sodium percarbonate. Because it’s the oxygen bleach part of laundry detergent you want. Spoonful of that, in a bowl, hot water, just leave them to soak overnight.

“In the morning, rinse it off and then either use a little bit of Cif on a scrubby sponge, that works really, really well actually. Or a paste scourer, like the Pink Stuff or Astonish or any of those on those sponges. That should bring it up really, really nicely.”

If this doesn’t work, which might be the case if it’s really stubborn or thick, Ann recommends rinsing it off, and then leave it to soak again with more laundry detergent, and then repeat until you have the desired effect.

In the comment section people started sharing their own methods for getting rid of tea stains. One person wrote: “I use salt and a teeny bit of washing up liquid,” while another added: “I’ve always used biological laundry powder. Fill a bowl/cup with water and add the powder. Leave to soak and then wash/scrub after a few hours or overnight. Always come out spotless – obviously then wash well afterwards with usual washing up liquid.”

And a third recommended: “Milton is the one! It’s the only way I can get the bone china sparkling.”

If that doesn’t work, someone else suggested: “I just use brillo pads ………works wonders.”