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Are you a passionate recycler? Don’t want your used tea bags to end up in landfills? We have got the perfect guide for you. If you are overwhelmed to let go of teabags right after one use, we won’t judge you but rather guide you. Want some natural, organic household remedies? Teabags. Want a naturally glowing skin? Teabags.
Instead of ending up at landfill sites, old tea bags can be used in surprisingly several creative uses. They play an important role when it comes to easy household hacks in terms of skin cair, hair cair, cleaning and many more.
Presenting some extraordinary suggestions that could make tea leaves go way beyond the cup!
32 Practical Uses of Used Teabags
1. Haircare
Want shiny and attractive looking hair? Use tea bags! Shampoo and condition your hair like normal and rinse your hair with a weak tea brew and make your hair shine. You can make the weak tea mixture from old, used tea bags and it will work just like apple cider vinegar for your hair!
2. Hair dye
You can also dye your hair with a tea mix as the black color will provide a brown effect on your hair. If you have hibiscus tea bags, no worry, presenting your hair with a reddish hue!
3. Face Scrub
When you feel that your face needs a little extra care, it’s teabag time! Pop open one and make a scrub out of it. It helps shrink large pores and provides a healthy shine. Rub the mixture in a circular motion to get your job done. Keep it for about 5 mins and rinse in warm water.
4. Skincare
As mentioned already, tea bags can do wonders for your skin if used properly. Hang a bunch of used tea bags over the tap to add some antioxidant effect to your bathwater. This will help you achieve great skin together with an aromatic effect. One can use Jasmine Lavender, Peppermint or green and white tea for this hack.
5. Treat Sunburn
Teabags can be your go-to stuff during hot summer days. They help soothe the irritating and dull sunburnt skin and takes great care of your delicate areas. With 2 teaspoons of honey and lemon juice, it would help bruises or minor cuts heal faster as well. Leaving it for about 10 to 20 minutes would do the job.
6. Eyecare
Energize your tired eyes by using moist tea bags, dipped in either warm or cool water. Keep them in contact for 10 mins and you will see the difference.
7. Treat Razor Burns
Did you ever make your skin irritated by shaving too hard? Teabags can help you cure razor burns and save you from irritations. Compress the affected area with a wet tea bag and diminish the rashes as well. But be careful, use anything but peppermint in this case.
8. Remove Smell
Do you love to cook but cutting garlic or fish is a nightmare for you? Keep tea bags handy and rub them on your fingers after you are done mincing. This will absorb the odor faster and might also replace the foul smell with a good fragrance.
9. Moisturizer
Moisten tea bags can also be a good moisturizer. I have used it several times to hydrate dry skin during chilly winters. Reuse used tea bags and heal parched skin.
10. Bathing Soap
You can also make bathing soap from old, dried tea leaves as it serves as a skin exfoliant. You can add spices or herbs for extra scenting!
Please go get the door. Glossy and healthy skin is waiting for you!
11. Nutrition for Plants
Keep old and used tea bags for 30 mins to an hour in your watering can and add nutrients to the life called water. This will not only add nutrients to your dear plants but will also reduce fungus.
12. Compost
As we know, tea leaves are wonderful compost for plants. Empty the contents of it after using and make your garden more fertile. Instead of running to your garden every time, it is better to store them in a container and empty a batch at once.
Similarly, you can also empty the contents at the base of your potted plant. It is a quick and easy hack for the green members in your window ledge. Herbal bags would be the best choice for this case and make sure to avoid using caffeine bags.
14. Treat Insect Bites
Teabags can also be used to soothe insect bites. Rub tea bags in the infected area and avoid inflammations. Though this is more a skincare hack, you know, you might get stung while gardening!
15. Food Flavoring
Want to add a light flavor to rice, grains or pasta? Add a teabag to the pot with boiling water, simple! Use jasmine or spice teas in this case for better aroma.
16. Tea Cocktails
Customize your cocktails by using tea bags. Wet your tea bags with rum or vodka and keep it for a night, and taddaa! Your rum mojito or sweet tea vodka is ready!
17. Marinate
Marinate meat with used tea bags to enjoy a tender and soothing flavor at Christmas or Thanksgiving. It will add sweetness and delicious notes to your dish, especially if it’s barbecued meat.
18. Deodorizer
Eliminate odors from trash cans by using dried teabags. Keep the freshness going by adding drops of essential oil to the bag and hang it in the kitchen. You can just keep on adding oils as and when required and your pocket-friendly, room freshener is ready!
You can also use dry used tea bags in a container with a lid open to keep your fridge free from unwanted odor and let it feel fresh, always!
So, they are highly effective to drive away bad odors in the kitchen. Teabags can also be used to remove cat litter odors as it serves a cheaper brand of cat litter.
20. Disinfectant
Want to disinfect your kitchen but you hate anything chemical? Teabags are here for you this time as well. Use a peppermint tea bag and wipe it over the surface and your disinfection done! Be careful with it and don’t let it tear.
21. Remove burned Food Stains
Teabags can also be used to wipe off grease or burned food stains on dishes. Leave moistened tea bags for some time on the dishes and see the magic. You can also add it to your washbowl for faster action.
22. Restore Shine for Furniture
Teabags serve as a natural treatment for restoring wooden or glossy surfaces. You can simply clean the wooden area and leave it to dry. It serves the purpose for natural and wood veneers as well but I haven’t tested that yet. It works the same for flooring. So, let’s make the floor shiny, shall we?
23. Glass Cleaner
Old tea bags and vinegar can be best friends when it comes to cleaning glasses. Based on my experiences, using the combination as a glass cleaner is very effective. I clean vases, utensils, and paintings with the solution.
24. Deodorize Carpets
Want to freshen up your carpet rags? Sprinkle some tea leaves from tea bags and leave it for a couple of hours. Vacuum it later and done. Your carpet will have an added aroma this time! But make sure you use dry, unused leaves for this one.
25. Sink Cleaner
I am obsessed with clean interiors, especially if there are guests visiting and I find the most important aspect should be the sink. I often use teabags to clean the sink as it makes it glossy with minimal effort!
26. Repel Pests
Just like a cheap room freshener, tea leaves can also serve as a rodent repellent spray. Rodents and peppermint hate each other. Grab some extra peppermint tea bags and dip it in hot water and add some dishwashing liquid to it. Fill it in a spray bottle and you are about to put an end to unwelcome visitors, dwelling in the corners!
If you want to strengthen the spray, add peppermint essential oil and it will drive out spiders and ants as well.
27. Odor Neutralizer
Empty some leaves from tea bags and seal them inside old socks. Keep those inside your shoes for a few days and the odor will vanish! The best cure for running shoes and you can also keep it in the shoe cabinet for added security.
I would hate this to admit but it is not always the shoe that stinks, sometimes my feet are equally responsible for this deed. I usually get rid of these by making my feet take a refreshing tea bath. What are you waiting for? Add some mint leaves to warm water and your feet would be like ‘Oh, I smell so pleasant!’
28. Mouthwash
If you are out of mouthwash, peppermint bags can serve as a handy and quick solution. You can also use Rosemary in case you are in a rush, one morning. No hassle, nothing, just gargle it off. Or you can simply forget all of these and enjoy a peppermint tea instead!
29. Natural Fabric Dye
Much like the effect of dying or giving a brown effect to your hair, tea leaves can do the same to fabrics. Black clothes get discolored very often and I suffer a lot due to it. You can try what I have done to restore the original color and glow.
Wash the clothing like normal days and soak it into a mixture of strong tea with clean water. Keep it for about 10 mins. You might not achieve the original shade at one go, but the color would definitely get darker after every wash. Be careful, don’t dye colored clothes in this fashion!
If you are bored with your off-white tee then it is high time that you give it a brand new look. Soak in 3 cups of black tea into 2 cups of water and dip the fabric in the solution. Stir it to ensure even staining. The longer you soak, the darker it gets!
You will get a beige or coffee-colored tee mostly. You can always be creative with these things so try rubber band trick for a tie-dye look or use plastic coverings if you want to dye in just a few areas.
30. Creative Pillows
If you want to get creative with your pillow, you can stuff old, used tea leaves in it! This will help cure insomnia, blood pressure issues, and headache. It also induces sleep and enhances it. This would be very convenient if you have access to tea plantations as it would be handy for you!
31. Vintage look for Cards
Want to make a vintage looking card for your kid’s school exhibition? Try to stain it with a moistened tea bag and wait for the results. They look authentic and gorgeous and also provide an old look to the craft. The same can be applied for clothing as well but watch out for spilling the tea bag as it might ruin your creativity.
32. Air Freshener
Appreciating the aroma and light fragrance provided by the mighty tea leaves for the nth time, it can replace pricey air fresheners in many instances.
Take a few teabags together, bind them and add essential oils to it. Use this to obtain a natural air freshener, avoiding the chemical ones and also allowing cost-cutting. Use any flavor like Lavender, Jasmine or mint for best results. And most importantly, you can be creative with its representation as well!
I love to make a win-win situation for me and my wallet so one can find tea leaves fresheners at every corner of my house.
Here we end more than 30 uses of tea bags, contrasting to the conventional drinking and digesting. If you are confused about which one to use or doubt whether they will work or not, don’t think much, just do it! I have already tried several and most of them do work. Why wait? Let’s recycle for the good!
