Tea Isn't Just for Drinking!

Tea isn't just for drinking. There are many other uses for tea in your home. Here are just a few. 

• Clean a musty carpet by sprinkling some steeped damp green tea leaves on it. Let it sit for about 15 minutes and vacuum. This eliminates the mustiness. 
• The tannins in black tea leaves can help shine and color hardwood flooring. Follow your cleaning routine, carefully rub brewed tea onto the floor and let it air dry. 
• Used dry green tea leaves are great to help deodorize litter boxes. 
• It has been rumored that dried tea leaves can prevent fleas by sprinkling them around your pets bedding.
• Rinse your hands with steeped tea after preparing or eating fish to eliminate fishy odors on your hands. 
• Used tea leaves can also remove stubborn stains at the bottom of the toilet bowl. Put the tea leaves in a paper tea filter or a coffee filter that and close it so the leaves don't fall out. Let them sit in the toilet over night, remove, brush the bowl, and flush.
• Tea can remove stubborn and greasy fingerprints from glass. Rub damp tea leaves on the glass, fill a spray bottle with brewed tea, and wipe clean.
• Place used tea leaves in the refrigerator to absorb odors. 
• Sprinkle wet tea leaves on fireplace ashes when scooping them out to reduce dust. 
• Dip a soft cloth in a small amount of tea and use it to wipe down wood tables and chairs.
• Make your own car freshener by filling an organza bag with herbal, fruit tisanes, jasmine or lavender teas. Place it in a cup holder or under the seat. 

Tea for personal care:

• Cooled steeped tea leaves can soothe sunburns and minor burns. Soak in a tea bath for a full-body sunburn. 
• Warm steeped tea leaves can reduce puffiness and soothe pain around tired eyes. You can also use them as a warm compress to soothe the pain of pinkeye.
• Cooled steeped tea leaves can reduce razor burn.
• Hot tea leaves are rumored to draw out infections if left on fever blisters and canker sores.
• Poison Ivy. Steep a strong cup of black tea, dip a cotton ball in to the tea, and dab it on the rash. Let it air dry and keep repeating. This will dry it out and help alleviate the itching. 
• Steeped tea leaves on an injection site can be soothing for babies and adults.
• Toothaches and other mouth pain can be soothed by rinsing with steeped peppermint tea mixed with a little salt.
• Acne suffers believe washing their faces with green tea has reduced their acne. 
• Stinky feet. Soak your feet in a strong brew of tea for 20 minutes a day to remove odors and bye bye stinky feet. 

Tea in the Kitchen:

• Marinate tough meat in black tea to make it more tender.
• Add tea to a food smoker for tea-infused meats.
• Boil eggs with Lapsang Souchong tea. The smokiness of the tea adds great flavor and can bring your egg salad to a whole new level. 

Try tea in your garden. Sprinkle fresh steeped or used tea leaves around your rosebushes and cover with mulch to give them a midsummer boost. The nutrients from the the tea will be released into the soil during watering and spur growth. 

In a recent article published by conducted with 50 participants, it was reported that minutes after drinking tea, the participants scored better in creative and cognitive tests. The warm and soothing beverage really gets your creative juices flowing and can make you more creative. 

Try these tips and enjoy the versatility of tea. 

Enjoy your time with tea!