Cleaning Coffee & Tea Stains

Here’s my first post for my “Try This” category. Some of my posts may seem like, “Well, duh!” tips, I hope you’ll eventually come across something useful!

I’m a tea lover (British-style black tea with milk, thank you), and my husband Todd drinks coffee, too. We both like our hot drinks really hot, so we often use insulated mugs. Our metal mugs are fantastic at keeping drinks piping hot for a couple of hours, and I also use my Tervis Tumbler plastic insulated mug on a regular basis. Consequently, our mugs quickly build up stains that can’t be washed out with a sponge (and they aren’t dishwasher safe). Our solution? Denture tabs, the fizzy ones that dissolve in water. The store brand/generic tabs work just fine and are inexpensive. Just drop two or three into your mug, fill most of the way with water (leave a little room for the fizzing, or simply leave the mug sitting in your sink) and give it overnight to do its magic. In the morning, empty the mug and scrub away the stain with a scouring sponge and dish soap. Occasionally the stain is stubborn enough that it requires a second treatment, but no biggie. Give it a try!