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How To Remove Coffee & Tea Stains From Mugs
If that favorite coffee mug of yours is getting a nasty brown ring inside, here are a few different methods for making your mug look brand new again:
Method #1
- Wet a cloth then rub the inside of the mug with baking soda. If the stains are stubborn, soak overnight in hot water and baking soda.
Method #2
- Soak the mug in bleach OR vinegar for several hours or overnight.
Method #3
- Fill mug with boiling water, add two spoonfuls of dishwasher detergent then soak overnight.
Method #4
- Try a paste of corn starch and vinegar, apply and let sit for a few minutes then scrub away.
Method #5
- Drop two denture tablets in the mug, pour hot water over top then soak overnight.
After soaking mugs and removing the stains, rinse and wash very well before using–especially when using the bleach method.
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Thanks for this hints. We get this question all the time and you have many of the solutions in one convenient place!
Bret Wingert
souvia.com/blog
I tried some of the cup cleaning methods offered here, but found the simplest was to spray the inside of the cup with kitchen 409. The brown stain just sloughed off. I rinsed the cup, washed it out — et voila, ready to go — and my cups were VERY stained.
Hi! I have used hot water with a little bleach, filling the cup and letting it set while I wash the rest of the dishes, or I have also used hot water with a bit of ammonia in the same manner. (Remember to NEVER mix bleach and ammonia! Do not use ammonia for stainless steel pots and pans or tableware). Wash your cups very well after the soaking. I also add a lid full or two of bleach to sudsy dish water (use rubber gloves to protect you hands) to disinfect and make glasses sparkle. Rinse well with hot water. The gloves will protect you hands from heat as well. I hand wash dishes, so apparently I have already gone green!
I know it’s a purchased product but they work great on any stained dishes and many other surfaces that are stained; thoes magic erasers that can be found in grocery store cleaning ailes and at many “dollar” type stores.Using one rescued my counter top from what I thought was a permanent stain.
Just use some sugar in the mug and use a damp cloth to get all the stains with it.
I always use SOS pads (steel wool). Quick, no fumes. Never noticed any damage, even to nice porcelain (rub gently on any gold rims etc.). Great for tea strainers and stainless steel sinks too (though there are gentler products out there made for sinks, which don’t scratch…but that’s only if you have a fancy sink you really care about!).
To remove tea stains from cups.Very easy. Happens instantly. Pour a small amount of toilet bowl cleaner on a dish rag. Wipe stains . Poof gone. You are welcome . Wear rubber gloves. Rinse everthing incold water. You are welcome.
Pat,
I question cleaning anything I’m going to eat or drink out of with something you recommend I should where gloves for. Your welcome.
WOW! thanks so much, HuwOS… the sugar suggestion worked FANTASTIC! no soaking necessary… no animal-tested, polluted-factory produced chemicals or products necessary! amazing, i tell you… absolutely amazing! (cleaning my dishes with bathroom cleaner just sounds wrong anyway. no offense.)
Why would you want to clean a well seasoned coffee mug? It’s a labor of love when your coffee mug has that beautiful brown seasoning inside. It makes the coffee taste so much better.
I bet REAL coffee drinkers around the world are cringing, much like I did, reading this.
I agree. My white cup is washed daily, but it still contains tea stains. I left it at my neighbor’s one day and she bleached it. It took me a month or more to get the stains back in it so it would have the right taste. If its not broke don’t try to fix it.