Let’s talk over it over a cup of tea. Can I take you out for tea tomorrow? Tea is the most popular beverage all over the world, with the highest number of people preferring it over any other beverage. However, sipping tea is not the only thing that you can do with this sweet drink. Its uses are uncountable, as is discussed in this article.
Uses of Tea
The use of tea is as many, with the sky as their limit. This article outlines 30 of the most common uses of tea;
1. Soaking Pans
Pans used in the kitchen can develop burnt spots that are hard to clean. Dissolving a black tea bag in hot water, then soaking the dirty pan in the solution can help to get rid of the stubborn spots. This is because the tea bag contains tannic acid, which breaks down the grease, making cleaning of the burnt spots easier.
2. Dyeing Fabric
Fabric can be dyed and colored using the pekoe tea. When the pekoe tea bags are dissolved in boiling water, the fabric can be soaked in the solution. If the fabric is made of cotton material, the tea will give the fabric an antique, sepia theme.
3. Make Potpourri
Potpourri refers to the mixture of spices and petals, combined to produce a good scent in a room. Scented tea leaves can be used as potpourri in a room, as their fragrance spreads throughout the room.
4. Soothing Bleeding Gums
When older children lose teeth, their bleeding tends to be quite extreme. Place a cold and wet teabag on the gum where the tooth was. This helps to reduce the bleeding, as well as the associated pain.
5. Manufacturing Toothpaste
In the toothpaste industry, tea is used to make mouthwashes. In-home settings, individuals with toothaches can rinse their mouths with a solution of peppermint tea and salt. Rinsing with this solution soothes toothaches.
6. Giving the Hair it’s Shine
Brewed tea can be used as an effective hair conditioner, especially for dry hair. When used as a conditioner, the brewed tea should not be sweetened. Also, after application in the hair, it should be washed off with clean water.
7. Dyeing the Hair
Rather than go for the commercial hair dyes, a person can as well use brewed tea to dye their hair. This natural dye is created by mixing a solution of rosemary, sage, and black tea. The solution is usually left to stand overnight, after which it can be applied to the hair as black dye.
8. Boosting the Skin
Tea, specifically green tea, has had tremendous results when used on the skin. Bathing in green tea works to protect the skin, making it more beautiful.
9. Curing Acne
Not only does green tea protect the skin, but it also helps to cure all the acne infections. Therefore, people suffering from acne would do well to wash their faces using green tea, for a blemish-free skin.
10. Stinking Feet
Feet that stink make very uncomfortable environments and cause a lot of embarrassment to their owners. To eliminate the foot odor, the feet are soaked in strong tea, for at least 20 minutes.
11. Healing Plantar Warts
Plantar Warts are virus infections that affect the feet. They are characterized by the development of growths on the feet. Pressing a warm and wet tea bag on these growths, for at least 20 minutes each day, can help to cure these warts very fast.
12 Improving Breath
Communication, even with a loved one, can be annoying if one person has bad breath. Gargle your mouth with strong tea, to improve your breath.
13 Boosting Mental Alertness
Caffeinated tea has been proven to have positive effects on the brain, helping the users to grow even smarter. The Chinese medicine practitioners also recommend stuffing tea leaves in pillows, then sleeping on these. They claim that sleeping on such pillows helps people wake up with clearer heads and thinking.
14 Curing Common Cold
When you are sick with cold, make yourself a cup of black tea, mixed with rosemary. Black tea with rosemary helps to cure many common cold symptoms, such as running nose and sore throat.
15. Preventing Dizziness
Drinking tea not only helps a person relax but also boosts their blood pressure. Dizziness is usually caused by a drop in the body’s blood pressure. Since tea works to boost the blood pressure, it can be confidently concluded that it helps to prevent dizziness.
16. Pot Plants
Before soil can be added to the pots, tea bags can be placed at the bottom. These tea bags ensure healthy pot plants, by holding moisture in the soil, as well as providing essential nutrients and minerals to the rots of the pot plants.
17 Soil Mulch
Tea leaves can be added to the soil in which plants/trees have been grown. The tea leaves can either be used or new. When added to the soil, they provide beneficial bacteria for the roots of the plants/trees.
18. Cleaning Carpets
Dirty carpets, or carpets with mold stains and odors, can be cleaned using green tea leaves. The carpets are rubbed using a cloth soaked in a solution of green tea leaves, then left to stand for approximately 10 minutes, after which they can be vacuumed.
19. Shining Wood Floors
Hardwood flooring requires regular cleaning and shining. The shining of the wood floor can be done using black tea. When this tea is rubbed on the floor then left to dry, the tannins in the tea provide a shine to the floor.
20. Cleaning Glass and Mirrors
Glass windows and mirrors can be cleaned well-using tea. This is because tea has the ability to breakdown all the stubborn grease on glass, making it easier to clean. Rubbing a wet tea bag on the window or mirror helps to clean the glass, leaving it sparkling clean.
21. Removing Toilet Stains
You don’t need to buy those expensive supermarket toilet cleaners to have a clean toilet. Simply drop several tea bags in the bottom of the bowl, then leave them to soak. When some hours have passed, the toilet is flushed and the bowl brushed, leaving a very clean toilet.
22. Rinsing Palms
Some of the foods we eat leave quite unpleasant smells on the hand, such as fish. These unwanted odors can be removed by washing the hands thoroughly with tea.
23. De-stinking Fridges
As an alternative to baking soda, tea bags can be placed and left on the fridge, to absorb any unpleasant odors in the fridge. These tea bags can also be used alongside baking soda.
24. Preventing Fleas
If you have pets in your home, then flea infestation is most likely a problem that you deal with. To get rid of the fleas, try sprinkling some dry, used tea leaves on the beddings of your pets.
25. Killing Dust Mites
Make a solution of black tea with clean water. Then, put this solution in a spray bottle. When this solution is sprayed on the carpet, the tea kills all dust mites present.
26. Cleaning the Fireplace
When the fireplace ashes are scooped, the dust tends to blow and make any surrounding furniture or upholstery dirty. Before you can scoop out the ashes, sprinkle wet tea leaves around the fireplace. This helps to prevent the dust from blowing.
27. Car Air Freshener
Lavender and herbal teas make very good car air fresheners. These can be placed under the car seats to eliminate any bad odors.
28. Soothing Burns
Wet tea bags can be used to relieve sunburns and other smaller burns. For extreme sunburns, a person can try soaking in a tea bath.
29. Tired Eyes
Tired eyes tend to be very puffy and painful. Place warm and wet tea bags around the eyes, for approximately 20 minutes. These tea bags reduce associated eye pain and puffiness.
30. Manufacturing Soap
Glycerin soap is made using tea. The tea produces a good fragrance, which makes the soap smell better. More so, it has very good cleansing properties, which make the glycerin soap clean even better.
Conclusion
Each morning, you take a cup, or two cups, of tea. However, what do you usually do with the tea bags after? Most of the tea bags end up in the trash cans. So, before you throw out that tea bag, remember all the uses that the teabag has, and try out one of the above recycling ways.
