How to get rid of tea stains in cups

Tea is wonderful: it warms our hearts, wakes us up in the morning, and is filled with healthy antioxidants! But tea is also the culprit behind all those stains on our favourite mugs (and teeth!).

Tea stains on mugs are unfortunately an unavoidable side effect of enjoying this delicious habit. Lucky for you, there are several easy ways to clean tea stains from cups (and even possibly prevent them altogether). 

You can use common household items like sponges to more unusual but surprisingly effective methods like denture cleaner. Here are the best (and easiest) ways to clean out those pesky tea stains from mugs! 

P.S. These methods will also work for coffee stains!

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The Science Behind Why Tea Stains Our Mugs?

Tea stains our mugs for the same reason it stains our teeth: it all comes down to having a high tannin content. Tannin (A.K.A. tannic acid) is a naturally occurring compound that gives tea (and red wine) it’s unique dark color and flavor profile. The amount of tannin in differs in every tea, affecting the color, bitterness and acidity. So, you’ll find a lot more tannins in black tea than green tea. 

But! Tea stains can also be due to the quality of your water. Water can contain different compounds and minerals that will leave a dark stain behind, like iron, manganese and even more tannins! Read more about the quality of your water. 

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Tips Before You Start Cleaning Your Mugs

The material of your mug will influence which cleaning method you should use. First, I noticed that certain methods work better on certain materials than on others. Second, some methods may also react differently with certain materials. 

With this in mind, if you care about your mug it’s important to test out a cleaning solution on a small part of your mug first. It’s like when you buy a new cream, or makeup; first try it on a small part of your face or hand before applying it everywhere to see if you have a reaction. The same idea should be applied when you clean tea stains from mugs.

How To Remove Tea Stains From Mugs

I tried and compared seven different methods to remove tea stains from cups. Some of them worked really well, while others fell a bit short.

I rated each one on four factors and then gave each one an overall score to ultimately find the best (and the easiest) way to clean tea stains from mugs. Each one is rated out of five.

How To Clean Tea Stains From Mugs – The Best Method Was…

Off the bat, I noticed that a lot of the cleaning methods did well at removing the stains from mugs (excetp for vinegar). Where these methods differed was in how easy they were to use and the reach that they had.

The best (and easiest) way to clean tea stains from mugs is to use lemon or lemon with baking soda. Lemon worked really well for cleaning ceramic mugs and it couldn’t have been easier to use. Simply adding a slice of lemon to my tea or rubbing a lemon wedge along the side.

Lemon with baking soda is my preferred cleaning solution for my stainless steel travel mug and tea accessories. It made them sparkle like I’d never seen before!

Continue reading for a more detailed review of how to clean tea stains from mugs using these methods.

1. Use The Hard Side Of The Sponge To Clean Tea Stains

Using the coarse (green) side of a sponge is somehow both the easiest, and the hardest way I found to remove tea stains from cups. It’s quite simple to use. All you need to do is use dish soap and hot water and scrub your mug until it’s clean. 

It’s an easy way to clean out your tea stained mug because it isn’t adding an extra step to your daily cleaning. You have to clean your mug anyway, now I’m just making sure to use the hard side of the sponge.

But cleaning tea stains with the hard side of the sponge also has some negatives too…

Tea Stain Removal: 5/5
Ease of Use : 3/5
Reach: 2/5
Material: 1/5 Can scratch – especially stainless steel

First, it’s also one of the hardest ways to clean your mug because it’s quite labor intensive. I mean, the tea stains don’t simply wipe off with one stroke. It’s more of a man power method of scrubbing your hardest, but the results are spectacular.

The second negative is based on your mug. If it’s tall, or has some nooks that are harder to reach, these areas are going to be almost impossible to clean.

The third, and final negative is that the hard side of the sponge is not exactly a soft material. It will scratch certain surfaces. For example, I wouldn’t use this method to clean my stainless steel travel mugs (not that I can reach the bottom with the sponge anyway!). 

BUT! I found this method resulted in one of the cleanest mugs after removing tea stains. Shop sponges on Amazon.

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2. Can The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Clean Tea Stains?

This blew my mind! I had never thought to use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean tea stains before. But it kind of makes sense when you think about it, as it’s commonly used for other tough stains, for example in my sink, shoes…etc. Literally anything you can think of!

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser isn’t as common of a household item as a sponge, but they are easy to get your hands on (you can get them on Amazon).

The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean tea stains was very similar to using the green side of the sponge. I added a bit of water to it, and then scrubbed my mug until it was sparkling clean! 

Tea Stain Removal: 5/5
Ease of Use : 4/5
Reach: 2/5
Harsh Material: 3/5 Can dull stainless steel

It wasn’t able to reach those hard to reach areas in my mug either, but I did find it easier to control. The sponge is quite a bit more slippery to handle (you’re using soap and a lot more water) so the Magic Eraser is easier to hold, and manipulate. It was also perhaps a bit less strenuous a job than using the sponge.

Plus, the Magic Eraser isn’t as harsh of a material, so if you’re worried about scratching your mug, you’re better off using the Magic Eraser. I used the most durable Magic Eraser so no pieces fell off while using it. I’ve had my Mr. Clean Magic Erase start to disintegrate on me if I scrub too hard. It’s also a good idea to test out the Magic Eraser on your mug first, it’s known to dull stainless steel.

In the end, the results were very similar at removing tea stains as the sponge. I would say that between using a sponge or the Mr. Clean Magic Erase to remove tea stains from cups, it’s really based on your preference and what you have in the house.

3. Using A Lemon To Remove Tea Stains From Cups

Lemon is always my favourite cleaning solution because I love the smell of it! I tend to add a slice of lemon to my tea whenever I feel a cold coming on and I noticed that my mug would always come out looking cleaner. So it came as no surprise that this is one of the best ways to clean tea stains from mugs. 

There are a few ways you can use lemon to clean your mug. The most casual way is to simply add a lemon slice daily to your cup of tea. This will help clean and even prevent tea stains in cups.

But, in order to properly clean my mug, I added a slice of lemon to hot water and let it sit for about 30 minutes, after which I poured out the water, wet a piece of paper towel and wiped down the inside of the mug. The results were outstanding. With very minimal effort, the stains wiped right off! 

Tea Stain Removal: 5/5
Ease of Use: 4/5
Reach: 4/5
Material: 5/5

The other benefit of this method is that a paper towel is a lot easier to get into those harder to reach areas (compared to a sponge and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser).

The downside is that it’s potentially a separate cleaning step. But, like I said, if you enjoy lemon in your tea, or hot water with lemon, make yourself a cup, and then wipe it clean afterward. So you aren’t wasting your time or a lemon! 

You can also rub and squeeze the lemon directly on the inside of the mug without adding water. And if you don’t have a fresh lemon, you can use lemon juice instead (shop lemon juice on Amazon)!

4. Trying Baking Soda To Remove Tea Stains

Baking soda is often known as the ultimate cleaning agent, so why can’t we use it on our mugs for tea stains?

I thought Baking Soda was going to be the winner of this comparison by far, but I was so underwhelmed with the results.

I tried using baking soda in two ways. First, I tried adding 1 tsp of baking soda to hot water and letting it sit for about 30 minutes. After that, I wiped it clean with a damp cloth/ paper towel. The outcome was mediocre at best. I mean, the mug came back cleaner than it was before, but I guess compared to using a sponge or lemon, it wasn’t really close.

The better way to use baking soda to clean tea stains is to wet the inside of your mug (rinse it out and spill out all the water). Then coat the sides and bottom with a thin layer of baking soda. I let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it clean with a damp cloth. This method worked a lot better. Buy baking soda on Amazon.

Tea Stain Removal: 3/5 
Ease of Use: 4/5
Reach: 4/5
Material: 4/5

5. Best Crossover: Lemon AND Baking Soda

The best method, by far, is mixing lemon with baking soda. Lemon is honestly still good as a cleansing solution on its own, but I wouldn’t even bother with baking soda alone. The results using lemon and baking soda is astonishing! 

Mixing lemon with baking soda is such a strong cleaning solution because a chemical reaction happens when you mix them. Lemon (citric acid), when mixed with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) changes the chemical composition creating sodium citrate. When you mix it it’ll fizz and become foamy but what this really means is that the pH level is becoming more neutral (read about pH levels and cleaning).

To clean my mug using lemon and baking soda, I sliced my lemon into quarters. I squeezed the juice inside my mug and rubbed the wedge inside. Next, I coated a thin layer of baking soda inside my mug (exactly like using baking soda and water).

I let it sit there for a few minutes before wiping it clean with a damp cloth. As it turns out, lemon and baking soda can do a lot more than clean tea stains on mugs. Read about more uses for lemon and baking soda.

Tea Stain Removal: 5/5 
Ease of Use: 4/5
Reach: 4/5
Material: 4/5

Best For Cleaning Tea Stained Stainless Steel Accessories (i.e. Steepers & Travel Mugs)

The best part about the baking soda and lemon combination is that it’s a killer cleansing solution for stainless steel. Stainless steel is a hard material to clean because it can scratch quite easily. You don’t want to use the green side of a sponge and apparently Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will dull it.  

A lot of tea accessories are made with stainless steel, think travel mugs and steepers. Not only does baking soda and lemon clean all my tea accessories, but they come out shinier than ever! 

I wipe lemon all over my accessory, or squeeze it inside the travel mug. Next I do the same thing with the baking soda as I did for my mugs, just coat everything with a thin layer, then let it sit for a few minutes before wiping it clean. If you are looking to clean out your travel mugs, you should invest in a long sponge to reach the bottom, it makes it a lot easier!

6. Most Surprising Result: Denture Cleaner (Polydent)

Using denture cleaners to remove tea stains was the most shocking cleaning solution for tea stains. I found this method online and of course had to try it for myself because I didn’t think it would work. Honestly, it did it’s job and worked like a charm! 

If you don’t already have denture cleaner, I wouldn’t go out of your way to buy it if this is your only use for it. I have a mouthguard so I have a retainer cleaner so I used that.

It was recommended to cut the tablet into quarters and use one quarter. Then I followed the instructions on the box. I added hot water to the tablet and let it sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes of sitting with denture cleaner, the tea stains came right off with a damp cloth.

Again, if you don’t have denture cleaner I wouldn’t go out of your way to buy some. But, if you have some tablets and you don’t have lemons this is a perfectly good method to use! Buy denture cleaner on Amazon.

Tea Stain Removal: 4/5
Ease of Use: 4/5
Reach: 4/5
Material: 3/5

7. Don’t Even Bother Trying Vinegar For Tea Stains

I don’t typically use vinegar as a cleaning solution just because of the horrible smell but it is often a favourite. I tried using vinegar to clean my mug in a few different ways, but wasn’t satisfied with any of them. 

First, I added 1 tsp of vinegar to hot water and let it sit for about 30 minutes. After that I poured it out and took a damp piece of paper towel (you can also use a damp cloth) and wiped it off. Unlike the lemon which wiped right off, this did not. You can try adding more vinegar but I just can’t stand the smell! 

Next, I went straight to the source and soaked my paper towel in vinegar to wipe directly on the tea stains. This became more about strength for scrubbing rather than an easy wipe off.  

This was the only method for removing tea stains that was different based on the material of the mug. It did a better job on some of them, but all around I wasn’t really happy with any of the results. Buy vinegar on Amazon.

Tea Stain Removal: 2/5
Ease of Use: 2/5
Reach: 4/5
Material: 2/5

Tips On How To Prevent Tea Stains In Cups

Now we know why tea stains happen, and the best way to clean them, but are they actually avoidable altogether? Many argue that tea stains are in fact avoidable if you wash your mug immediately after use… well, I don’t know about you but I’m not into the habit of finishing my cup of tea and running to clean it out.  Not to mention, I usually like to enjoy a second (and even third) cup of tea before bothering. 

But, aside from running to clean your mug right away, there are two ways to potentially avoid tea stains in cups. 

First, you can change the type of mug that you’re using. Use either a dark coloured or glass mug and you’ll never see another tea stain again. I mean, in the dark mug you physically will not be able to see it! 

Another way is to add a dash of milk to your cup of tea. A study showed that milk contains casein that attaches to the tannin molecules that prevents them from sticking to your mug. Keep in mind that only cow milk will work, soy, almond, and other alternative milks do not have this mineral. 

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Tips To Prevent Tea Stains On Teeth

Adding a dash of milk to your tea not only protects your mug but also your teeth from those nasty tea stains! But, if you’re like me and aren’t a huge fan of milk, another solution is to drink your tea with a straw.

This may sound odd at first but in South America it’s actually typical to drink tea with a straw. Yerba Mate is traditionally enjoyed with a bombilla (a straw!). Find out more about Yerba Mate! 

This straw is ideal for tea because you don’t even need to use a steeper for loose tea. It has a filter at the bottom to stop tea leaves from going in. And it can potentially prevent tea stains on your teeth at the same time!

So What’s The Best Method To Remove Tea Stains From Cups?

Several of these cleaning methods had very similar results. It’s all about the cleaning method that’s convenient for you, what materials you already have at home and what it easy to add to your daily routine. Keep in mind that the more you stay on top of the stains, the easier it is for you to clean every time. 

Using a sponge, the Magic Eraser, a lemon, and denture cleaner were all very good at removing tea stains. But a sponge and Magic Eraser took a bit more effort and were hard to clean hard to reach areas of your mug. 

A sponge and lemon were the easiest to add to your daily routine, and not waste resources. If you’re using a lemon, simply enjoy a nice hot cup of water with lemon and then wipe it clean after!

By far the best for stainless steel tea accessories and travel mugs was to use lemon and baking soda. 

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Continue Reading Tea Tips

• Tea Basics: What’s The Difference Between Teas?
• The Truth Behind Reboiling Water: Is It Safe?
• English Vs. Irish Vs. Scottish Breakfast Tea
• What Is Matcha?
• How To Drink Grandpa Style?

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