Were you aware that tea was once used only as a medicine? It actually took it over 3,000 years for it to catch on as an everyday beverage.
See, we live in the south and love it, but it gets hot.
And on those hot days, nothing cools you down like a glass of iced tea. I also love hot tea on cold days and green tea as a detox beverage. If tea didn’t catch on as a regular beverage, my family and I would be hurting without it.
But if you drink tea daily, you’d have a lot of used tea bags.
What should we do with the leftover? Throw them away?
Don’t.
Just like coffee grounds, there are many smart ways of reusing tea bags.
Today, I’m going to share with you multiple tips on how you can reuse tea leaves and tea bags so that nothing goes to waste.
1. Make Your Tea Fix Stronger
When you make tea, don’t toss the empty tea bags. Instead, place them in cold water in a container and place them in your fridge.
Then when you make your next batch of hot tea, iced tea, or green tea add a used tea bag to it. It will make the taste stronger and more enjoyable if you like a stronger tea. This should also help you save on some extra tea bags as well.
2. Give Your Eyes A Break
When you place old tea bags over your eyes it can relieve dark circles and puffiness. I don’t know about you but some days I can use all of the help I can get.
So just take an old tea bag and place them over your eyes. Hopefully, you’ll look like a new woman (or man) when you take them off.
3. Cut The Burn
Have you ever used a new razor and it shaved you too close? I experienced that this week. And when you don’t suffer from that burn regularly it can be rather uncomfortable.
So instead of just dealing with the pain rub a used tea bag over the area. It should relieve the pain and soothe the agitated skin.
4. Add Some Extra ‘Pow’ To Your Food
When you are looking to add just a little bit of flavor to your foods such as pasta, don’t look any further than an old tea bag.
So all you’ll need to do is add a used tea bag to boiling water that you plan on cooking pasta, grains, chicken, etc. in. Once the water has boiled, remove the tea bag and add the food for cooking. You’ll have a nice added flavor to your finished dish.
5. Clean Your Glass
You can actually use old tea bags to clean your mirrors, glasses, and any other glass surfaces. You do this by just rubbing damp tea bags over the surface.
Then you’ll just need to wipe the surface with a dry cloth. This should help you have a streak free shine.
6. Use Your Tea Bags As A Dye
Tea bags are great as a dye. You can use it to dye paper, fabric, and your gray hair. Yes, even your hair!
So after you get over the shock of that, you just run a damp tea bag over your gray hairs. As long as you once had dark hair then it should work out fine.
7. Kick Infection Out
Well, actually a tea bag will draw infection out. So if you have a boil or another skin issue involving infection just place a damp tea bag on it. It should pull the infection out and help the sore heal. Just make sure the tea bag is clean.
So how much better does it get that a household item can help you heal an infection?
8. Use Your Tea Bags To Make You Kissable
Do you struggle with bad breath? If you have sinus issues or maybe, if you just love onions and garlic then you struggle with having a bad odor in your mouth.
Well, if that fits you then just use an old tea bag and brew a weaker tea. Then swish it in your mouth. You can even use flavored teas to get a little extra scent.
9. Make Your Hair Shine
Do you like conditioning your hair? I think most of us do. But do you enjoy buying expensive shampoos and conditioners? I know I don’t.
So instead, use your old tea bags to condition your hair. Just brew up a weaker tea with a used tea bag and rub it through your hair after you shampoo.
10. Refurbish Your Wood Surfaces
Do you have beautiful old furniture that has gone through some wear and tear? If so, don’t toss the furniture. Just use your old tea bags to refurbish it.
So you’ll just dampen your old tea bags and rub them over the discolored spots and scratches on the furniture. It’s that easy.
11. Take The Burn Out Of A Sunburn
I’m very fair skinned. So I understand how miserable a sunburn can be.
So if you are someone that struggles with getting sunburned don’t deal with the heat. Next time, just rub a dampened used tea bag over your burn. It should help to cool it.
12. Ditch The Onion Hands
I’ll share this with you all. I cooked supper last night and it included onions. I cleaned up supper, washed my hands, and went on with my night.
So as I was lying in bed last night I caught a huge onion smell. It was still my hands! You know how to avoid that from happening to you? Rub your hands down with used tea bags after cooking with onions. That way you won’t have to smell onions all night like I did.
13. Ditch Household Odors
Every household has odors. Whether it be your trash can, litterbox, or fridge. Tea bags can also be used as an air freshener too.
So if you have any of those odors tea bags can help you get rid of them. You’ll sprinkle tea in the bottom of your trashcan, sprinkler tea in with your litter, and also sprinkle tea inside a container in your fridge.
14. Water The Garden
Did you know that your garden likes tea too? Well, it does. All you have to do is brew some weaker tea with an old tea bag.
Then you pour it into a bucket of water and mix. Take that water and use it to water your garden. And then watch it thrive.
15. Tenderize Your Meat
If you’ve had to purchase meat tenderizer lately, you probably know that it isn’t cheap. We had to purchase a lot this past year when we used deer meat to make sausage.
Now, I wish I had known then that tea would’ve accomplished the same thing. You just sprinkle it on the meat and work it in. Then you’ll have tenderized meat.
16. Give Your Roses A Kick In The Pants
If you’d like to give your roses a boost or a kick in the pants don’t waste your money on expensive fertilizers. Instead, use the tea that you probably already have on hand.
So you’ll just sprinkle tea around your rose bushes and watch them thrive. You can also water them with the weak tea water too.
17. Evict Unwanted House Guests
Mice do not love tea. Like, not in the slightest. That is great news for us, though. Because we don’t like have uninvited visitors that don’t stop and chat. They just leave a nasty little trail behind them for us to clean up.
So to give your unwanted house guests the boot just leave out your old tea bags in areas where they like to invite themselves in at. They won’t like the smell and will quit coming around.
18. Ditch The Smelly Feet
Do your feet stink? It happens to a lot of people for various different reasons. But whatever your reason is you need a way to beat foot odor.
And you can beat it. By simply putting used tea bags in your shoes. But also by soaking your feet in water with old teabags. When you soak your feet you are actually doubling your use because old teabags are also great to use in detox baths too. So do these two things and you should be on your way to beating foot odor.
19. Teabags Can Be A Degreaser
Grease is a nasty part of cooking. And unfortunately, if you don’t clean it good enough you will begin drawing bugs and other nasty unwanted houseguests.
But you can beat the grease. How? With your used teabags. Just rub them over the surface and wipe. The grease should come right up.
20. Tea bags Are Good For Your Mouth
Do you have bleeding gums? It happens from time to time. But sometimes your gums just get inflamed and bothersome.
Well, don’t suffer anymore. Just place a used teabag on your gum at the spot of inflammation. Tea bags are great for gum health; it should help to soothe that area.
21. Say So Long To Poison Ivy
I am extremely fortunate because poison ivy does not impact me. But my oldest son is not so fortunate. He can barely brush up against it and it will be all over him in no time.
So when you find yourself in this state don’t suffer. Instead, get a damp used tea bag and rub it all over your rash. It should clear it up in no time.
22. Plant Food
If you drink tea and grow ferns then you won’t have to spend your hard earned money on plant food. Just pour weak brewed tea over your plant. Or open the used teabags and sprinkle it over your plants.
23. Used Teabags Are Also Good For Your Planters
Do you plant your flowers and vegetables in planters? I have a few that I do that way for various reasons.
Well, then use your used teabags inside your planters. You can place the teabags at the bottom of the planters and then it will help retain water and fertilize simultaneously. While you’re at it, toss your tea bags into your compost bin and enrich it so your non-potted plants can reap benefits of your tea-drinking too.
24. Use Your Teabags For Bug Bites
That’s right, friends, teabags can heal minor ailments like a bug bite or a bruise. Who would have ever thought? Not me, to be honest.
If you have a nasty bruise that you want to clear up quickly then rub dampened used tea bags on your skin.
25. Shrink Your Warts
While I’m on the subject, let’s carry the uses for tea one step further. Do you have a wart? They can be so embarrassing.
And it doesn’t matter, really, what you do because they always come back. Well, try placing a damp used teabag on the wart. Hopefully, you will find that over time it shrinks your unwanted wart.
26. Use Your Teabags On Your Animals
I have quite a few animals. Some are pets and some are livestock, but I love them all. And I obviously want to take as best care of them as I possibly can.
So when the warmer months come around it is important to keep fleas off of my animals. Well, fleas can be deterred by rubbing your animals down with used teabags. No high prices or strong chemicals.
27. Wash Your Toilet With Tea
Do you ever get hard water stains and nasty rings around your toilet? It happens to us all no matter how much we clean.
But those stains can be easily dealt with. All you need to do is rub them down with a dampened used teabag. That is great to know that for very little cost our toilets can shine.
28. Find Relief From Pink Eye
If you’ve ever had a pink eye you’ll probably never forget it. It is a miserable issue to have. When I was little I volunteered at a nursing home on Saturdays. I played Bingo with a lot of the residents. But I kept getting pink eye.
So if you’ve ever had it, I feel your pain. But I will say that all of those cases of pink eyes were completely worth it.
29. Clean The Fireplace
If you heat your home with wood then you know the process of cleaning out your fireplace or woodstove. It can be messy.
But you can make it a neater experience. You actually wet your teabags and then drop them on the ashes. This will keep them from flying around everywhere and easier to clean out.
30. Relieve Your Baby’s Pain
I’m a mom of three amazing boys. But part of parenthood is taking your child to the doctor and a lot of times it requires shots.
So if you’ve been through that you know that often the spot of the injection is sore afterward. Well, it is good to know that you can place a dampened old tea bag on the sore spot and it should help to ease the pain.
31. Use For Your Homemade Soap
Homemade soap is a great thing to know how to make. I also like it because you actually know what is in it and what you are rubbing over your largest organ…your skin.
But did you know that you can include your used teabags in your soap? Well, you can. Tea makes a great addition to pretty much any homemade soap.
32. Cure Your Blemishes
Acne is the worst. I battled with acne for years because of a medical condition. It was so embarrassing. I was married with children and still looked like a teenager.
But then I discovered detox showers. In these showers you use certain things to detox your body and tea can be one thing used. Thankfully, in my results, my face has cleared up. I finally look my age, and I’ve never been so thankful!
33. Help To Prevent Dizziness
Do you struggle with dizziness? I do from time to time. But I wanted to share this tip because this is one that should actually encourage you to drink tea.
So if you actually struggle with dizziness then you should drink more tea. Tea has been said to help prevent dizziness from taking place. If you needed one more reason to drink well there you have it. And then you’ll have more teabags to utilize in all of these amazing ways mentioned.
Well, there you have it, folks. 33 ways to use tea or teabags.