• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Salt in my Coffee logo

  • Raising Ducks
    • Raising ducks for eggs
    • Hatching ducklings
    • Duck Egg Recipes
  • Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Growing Fruit Trees
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Bread Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Treats and Desserts
    • Food Preservation
  • Handmade Projects
    • Easy Sewing Projects
    • Christmas crafts
    • Natural dyeing
    • Spinning
    • Natural Home
    • Blacksmithing
  • About
    • Contact

Home » Natural Home » How to Naturally Clean a Stained Mug

How to Naturally Clean a Stained Mug

Published Nov 29, 2018 · Last updated May 7, 2019 · By Anna · 4 Comments

269 Shares
Pin269
Share
Yum
Pocket
Buffer

This one-ingredient, no-scrub trick makes it easy to naturally remove stubborn coffee and tea stains from mugs and tea cups. Here’s how to naturally clean a stained mug.

how to naturally clean a stained mug

This post contains affiliate links. Click here to learn more.

Do you ever have those “Aha!” moments where you find a solution to a nagging little problem, and the answer is so simple, it’s embarrassing? I tend to feel like surely, everyone has known how to do this all along, and I’m the only one who doesn’t innately know this stuff…like, how to clean between the gunky-gross glass panes in the oven door. Not impossible, it turns out.

That’s pretty much how I feel about this one little tip I’m sharing today.

I have a set of white mugs that I received as a gift 10 years ago. They’re just the right size, and a nice friendly shape for holding, so they get a lot of use on a daily basis. But these poor dear mugs have become so terribly coffee stained inside, it’s shameful.

Even fresh out of the dishwasher, they’re an awful dingy brown inside. Now and then I really do give them a rigorous scrub when I’m handwashing dishes, and they get marginally better. I’ve even tried using white vinegar, because I’d seen that tip pop up in my Pinterest feed, and it seemed worth a try. But honestly, they haven’t looked like new in a long, long time.

how to naturally clean a stained mug
I’m a little embarrassed to show you how bad they are…but here they are. Isn’t it awful?

Then this morning I was drinking coffee, and giving the kids a baking soda bath to help my youngest with a tinge of diaper rash he’s fighting.

There’s nothing like sitting on the potty, keeping your kids company, with a box of baking soda in one hand and a stained coffee mug in the other, to give a mama ideas.

Turns out, baking soda works magic on coffee and tea stains. Absolute magic. And you don’t even have to scrub. Here’s how.

How to naturally clean a stained mug with one ingredient

Start by rinsing your stained mug with water, to get the inside damp.

The, dump in a little baking soda, and swirl it around to coat the whole inside. It will stick to the damp sides of the mug. Allow about 1/4 cup of baking soda for each average-sized mug.

how to naturally clean a stained mug

Let it just sit there for 20 minutes.

Then come back, take a cloth, and wipe out all the baking soda. If your mug was good and stained, it will be light brown – like cappuccino foam. And the inside of the mug will be white again – or whatever color it used to be. Go ahead and give it a wash to get rid of any baking soda residue, but you’ll find that you really don’t have to scrub. Those stains will lift right out.

before and after naturally removing coffee stains

That’s all there is to it! You and every other coffee drinker out there probably already knew this trick (I mean – it’s so easy, surely everyone does, right?) But to me, this was a happy little revelation that finally put the spic and span back in my mug cabinet – so I had to share!

Coffee, anyone?

269 Shares
Pin269
Share
Yum
Pocket
Buffer

Natural Home

Previous Post: « 24 Days of Creative Christmas Activities With Kids
Next Post: How to Dry Citrus Slices for Decorations »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liz Woosley says

    May 14, 2019 at 1:24 am

    I like not only your tips but style of writing.

    Reply
  2. Friday says

    December 6, 2018 at 1:09 pm

    I so badly needed this solution. I can’t wait to try it this weekend!

    Reply
    • Anna says

      December 6, 2018 at 8:09 pm

      Thanks for the kind words, Friday! Hope it’s a much of a breeze with your mugs as it’s been with mine!

      Reply
  3. Lydia St Louis says

    November 30, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    Thanks so much! I’ll have to get on this =)

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MOST RECENT POSTS

Favorite 1800’s cookbooks you can read online

pepper seedling in soil

Starting seeds in a cold house

How to Root Grapevines

Winter Gardening Projects

Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Read our PRIVACY POLICY here.

Copyright © 2021 Salt in my Coffee on the Seasoned Pro Theme