Are used tea bags useful for anything? Tea bags can do much more than just make tea. After making tea, you don't have to throw away the used tea bag immediately. They are good for cleaning, cooking, health and against bad smells. Here are some tips on what your used tea bags can be used for.
What are used tea bags useful for
Tea bags for cleaning in the household
Dishwashing. You can soak particularly stubbornly dirty dishes in the sink with two bags of black tea. The black tea helps to dissolve grease and dirt and will make rinsing much easier afterwards.
Carpet cleaner. Loose black or green tea is good for deep cleaning carpets. Spread the dried tea crumbs on the carpet and let it work for half an hour. Then vacuum clean the carpet.
Glass cleaner. Wipe the glass surface with the used, damp tea bag and then clean dry. The ingredients of the tea ensure that the glass is cleaned without streaks, just like with a commercial glass cleaner.
Wood cleaner. Tea is a good, inexpensive and environmentally friendly wood polish. Use freshly brewed tea for this. Herbal teas such as peppermint and chamomile are particularly good because of their essential oils. Use a cloth to spread the tea crumbs on wooden surfaces and even parquet flooring. After rubbing, you should polish with a dry cloth. To be on the safe side, always try the tea on a small area first.
Tea bags as first aid
Against acute infections. Infections and inflammations in the mouth, for example due to a tooth problem, can be soothed by pressing a tea bag on the affected area for some time. This also applies to inflammations caused by wounds. Of course, the tea bag is no substitute for a visit to the doctor if the inflammation is more serious. But peppermint tea, camomile tea, green tea or even black tea have an anti-inflammatory effect and relieve the pain.
For sunburn or insect bites. Here, too, a moist tea bag can significantly relieve the pain or itching.
Relaxing foot bath. Add one or two tea bags to a bowl of warm bath water and soak your feet in it. This helps with tired feet, blisters and calluses and acts as a deodorant.
Tea bags as flavour enhancers in cooking
For marinating meat. Meat can not only be marinated in alcohol, but also in tea. Depending on taste, black or green tea or herbal teas made from herbs that are also used as spices, such as thyme or rosemary, are particularly suitable for this.
More flavour to the rice. Cook the rice together with a tea bag, then the rice absorbs the aroma of the tea. Orange blossom is best for this, but you can also use any herbal tea, depending on your taste.
Tea bags against bad odours
As an odour eliminator and for fresh scent. Whether it's in the fridge, the wardrobe or around the bin, if it's a bit smelly, you can improve the smell with tea bags. For the fridge, you can take the still wet tea bag from your breakfast tea and leave it in a bowl in the fridge for a few days. The tea crumbs absorb bad smells so that the fridge smells fresh and clean again.
In the wardrobe or by the bin you should let the tea bags dry beforehand so that they don't get mouldy and make the problem worse.
After the second use of the tea bags
When you have used yours another time and the tea bags are no longer useful, you should dispose of them in the compost or organic waste if possible.
