Jun
08
2016
Interesting ways to reuse your tea-bags
If you think tea bags are meant to be thrown away after one use, you are clearly missing out on many missed opportunities to reuse your tea bags in a creative and effective manner.
Stronger tea.
If you are the kind to prefer stronger tea flavours, save your current bag for the next cup. Obviously, a once used tea bag doesn’t have quite the same impact as a new one, but it can contribute some flavour to the next cup. Any tea works for this, but green or red tea varieties work best as white teas are too mild to be used as such.
Extra flavour to pasta, grains.
After a nice cup of tea, reuse the tea bag to flavour other foods such as pasta and rice. Boil a pot of water with a tea bag to allow diffusion and remove it when you add your rice or pasta. For starters, go with jasmine or chamomile with rice, green tea with pasta and chai or cinnamon spice with oatmeal!
Use it as fertiliser.
Used tea leaves make for a superb alternative to fertiliser for soil. It also deters garden pests like mice when sprinkled around the base of your plants. Alternatively, you can re-brew your used bags and use that to water your plants to prevent fungal infections
Cleaning carpets.
Used tea bags can deodorise your floor coverings. You can store your used bags in the fridge in a cup of water to prevent spoiling until you gather enough. Remove all the leaves and let dry until slightly damp but not wet. Sprinkle those over rugs and carpets and wait till they dry to vacuum or sweep it up.
Getting rid of house odours.
Since it can act as a deodorising agent, it can remove any stubborn odours. Mixing dried used leaves with your cat litter or drop a few of them at the bottom of rubbish bins to counter the bad smells. They can even be stored in the fridge to keep it smelling fresh.
Air freshener.
Instead of purchasing air freshener from the store and risk artificial smells, adding a few drops of your favourite essential oil to dry used tea bags can result in instant air fresheners for your office, work or home. Since tea bags usually come with a strap, hanging them is a no brainer. Since tea bags absorb odours, they can be reused by adding more essential oil.
Deter pests.
Mice, spiders and ants are averse to the smell of tea, so tucking tea bags into nooks and crannies around your house can prevent some unwanted company. For additional protection, infuse peppermint essential oil.
Degreasing properties.
Soaking your oily dishes in warm water with used tea bags help to break up grease without applying harsh chemicals. The tea will help loosen any food stuck on to save you from madly scrubbing.
Sweet smelling hand scrub.
Handling food like garlic, onion or meat can leave your hand smelling like garbage. Use pre-brewed tea bags to scrub your hands and remove these terrible smells.
Feet soaks.
Soak your feet in warm water with used tea bags to get rid of foot odour, soften your calluses and refresh your skin.
Antioxidant bath.
Since tea leaves contain antioxidants, bathing in tea infused warm water is great for your skin. You can hang them over your faucets while filling your tub or directly dropping them in. Jasmine tea can provide for an aromatherapy feel or chamomile to relax.
Soothing skin irritations.
Cooling and moist tea bags are a great way to soothe any skin irritations naturally without the use of special products. If you have tired eyes, use them to help soothe any discomfort. Massage them over sunburnt areas to cool your skin and reduce inflammation. Use them for bruises to speed up the healing process or over stings and bites to extract toxins and reduce the pain and swelling.
Fight infections.
Applying moist and warm tea bags onto areas affected by canker sores, fever blisters, plantar warts or any other similar infections to draw them out and help to reduce pain.
Mouth freshener.
Twice brewed tea can be a cheaper alternative to Listerine. Just brew some weak teas using used tea bags. Peppermint and green teas will work best for this.
Hair conditioner.
Use after shampooing to condition and introduce added nourishment for your hair and scalp.
Shining wood surfaces.
If you have wood furniture or hardwood floors, use weak tea from pre-brewed bags to bring back the shine.
Glass cleaning.
Used tea bags can be re-brewed and applied onto windows, mirrors and other glass surfaces to break down dirt, grim or fingerprints. Wipe away with a clean lint free cloth to prevent scratching and remove dust particles.
With these genius ideas, you might need to store them away until you have enough. Moist tea bags can be a breeding ground for mould and bacteria growth. Keep used tea bags in the fridge if you want to use them later. If it starts smelling funky, you should probably throw them away and use another bag just in case.
