Tea Tips

1. Compost - Throw your used tea bags and tea leaves into your compost bin to help break down the other stuff in there.
2. Treat Minor Burns - Cool wet tea bags applied to the skin helps to ease the pain and remove the sting from minor burns such as when you catch yourself with the iron, sun burn, etc
3. Hair Conditioner - To give a natural shine to dry hair, use a litre of warm, unsweetened tea as a final rinse after your regular shampoo
4. Dry Poison Ivy Rash - Dry a weepy poison ivy rash with strongly brewed tea. Simply dip a cotton ball into the tea, dab it on the affected area, and let it air-dry. Repeat as needed
5. Cleaner - Freshly brewed tea is great for cleaning wood furniture and floors. Just boil a couple of tea bags in a litre of water and let it cool. Dip a soft cloth in the tea, wring out the excess, and use it to wipe away dirt and grime. Buff dry with a clean, soft cloth
6. Mouth Wash — Tea and tealeaves are naturally antimicrobial and are shown to improve microflora in the oral cavity. That means that they kill off germs that cause bad breath and plaque. Also, they contain fluoride, which helps maintain enamel. (White and green teas are best for fighting bacteria, while Oolong is best for fluoride.) You can use unused brewed tea or a brew made with used leaves to rinse after brushing. It’s OK to use a naturally flavored tea (like Earl Grey), but be sure not to add any cream or sugar!
7. Mild Antiseptic — In Japan, people traditionally used houjicha-soaked cloths as baby wipes. It is said to keep babies’ skin not only clean, but soft. Some people also apply moist tealeaves to their minor cuts to prevent infection. I would not recommend using a flavored or scented tea for this purpose unless you know what is in it and what it will do
8. Tea Bath - Tea leaves can make a wonderfully refreshing bath. They contain an enormous amount of nutrients, but only a small percent of these nutrients are removed by the first infusion. A portion of the remaining nutrients can be absorbed into your skin. Just add a few used teabags (or a few teaspoons of used tea leaves in a thin cotton bag) to the water as you draw your bath. Regular, scented or flavoured teas can be used
9. Eye Treatment - Using teabags (or loose-leaf tea in thin cotton bags) as an eye treatment (like you would use slices of cucumber) provides antioxidants to delicate skin and helps it to recover from environmental and biological factors like pollution and stress
10. Foot Odour - This is the least savoury of the health and beauty uses, but apparently it really works. Used tea leaves can be brewed into a strong tea, which can be used to soak the feet. Yay for antimicrobial properties
11. Odour Eater - Place a teabag or cotton bag full of dry leaves in your trash bin, fridge, bathroom, gym shoes or wherever else there’s an unpleasant odour or excess moisture
12. Wooden Cutting Boards - Spread wet (unscented, unflavoured) tea leaves over the cutting board to remove strong smells such as garlic. Let them sit for a few minutes, rub them into the wood and rinse them off with warm water. If necessary, repeat the process, but this usually works on the first try
13. Potpourri - Fill a large saucepan with water. Add cloves, cinnamon and used tea leaves (in the winter) or citrus rinds and used tea leaves (in the summer). Flavorred, scented or regular tea leaves work well. Just be sure the scents don’t clash. Simmer on low and check on it every hour or so — don’t leave it unattended. Add water or make a new mix as needed
14. Cat Litter - Tea leaves serve a dual purpose with cat litter. They deodorize and they’re antimicrobial. Just scatter into the cat box
15. Mirrors - For streak-free, shiny mirrors without an ammonia smell or weird chemicals involved, clean your mirrors with tea leaves. Put damp tea leaves onto a soft cotton cloth, wipe them onto your mirrors, leave them there for a minute and wipe them off with the cloth. Buff the mirrors a bit with the cloth if you’d like, then look yourself in the eye and congratulate yourself on a job well done
16. Rust Prevention - The tannin in tea binds to iron, creating a thin, rust-protective coating. Black tea is highest in tannins, so it’s best for this use. You can use it for steel knives, iron pots and even that Modernist steel sculpture looming in the foyer. Just wipe on, leave for a minute, and wipe off. Repeat as needed. (The more wear the item gets, the more often you need to repeat