After having a cup of tea or coffee I try to rinse my cup out if I don’t have time to wash it straight away. However, this is not always the case. This, unfortunately, leads to stains accumulating in the cup that don’t come off by only cleaning with dish soap. As more and more stains accumulated on the cup over time, it became harder to remove.
The unsightly-looking stains are due to the tannins found in substances, including wood and, of course, tea. The worst part is that tannin stains may not only make cups look unappealing but also affect the taste of beverages. While bleach is a go-to for stains, I found that it did barely anything for my marked cup.
What’s more, the potent smell of bleach was another reason I wouldn’t recommend this. I then used a Mrs Hinch fan favourite – denture tablets – and it couldn’t have worked any better.
Most denture cleaning tablets are considered as natural as they contain ingredients similar to those found in household cleaners and laundry detergents, only in less abrasive forms.
Denture cleaning tablets use chemical oxidants to remove stains caused by foods that dentures come in contact with daily. Hence, them being able to effectively remove tea and coffee stains.
For this method, I used the Steradent denture tablets this time around as I already had them to hand. However, any brand will do the trick.
The teacup I was cleaning had over a year’s worth of stain buildup, but they lifted in under 30 seconds.
I started by adding just one denture tablet to the stained cup and filled it up with boiling water.
The tablet instantly started to fizz as the water came into contact with it, which was a sign that the cleaning process had begun.
Once the tablet had stopped fizzing, after 20 to 30 seconds, I poured the water out of the cup, and the stains had all disappeared.
I finished cleaning the cup by giving it a once-over with washing up liquid, and rinsing it.
