When I was writing part one, I realised how many uses there were for our used tea bags, so it seemed fitting that we had to have a part two. If you have not yet read part one, please do so here. But for now, I will continue on with more handy uses for our tea bags that are designed to make our lives that much easier, better for the environment, and of course- cheaper!
They Repel Unwanted Insects and Rodents
I am sure most of us can attest to an insect or rodent problem at least once in our lives. I like to think it is because we cook such tasty food that the word gets spread around to the outside world, where the insects and rodents cannot resist stealing a bite. But having insects or rodents in our home is not ideal, and can lead to cleanliness issues. To keep our kitchen and home clean, and by omitting the use of chemicals which can be damaging for our family’s health, our pet’s health, and on the environment, here is how we can use tea bags to keep our unwanted guests away.
Specific teas are more effective than others, so make sure you have some of these in your pantry ready to go. When it comes to deterring both insects and rodents, peppermint tea would be your pick. Because of its minty aroma- rats, mice, bugs, and insects will avoid areas containing this smell. Same can be said for cinnamon and lemon, both showcasing strong, distinct scents. Any teas containing these ingredients will do the trick in keeping unwanted visitors at bay.
Black tea has a potent smell and contains high levels of tannins which can be an unappealing scent to mice and rats. Because mice and rats have a heightened sense of smell, anything unpleasant will be sure to keep them away. Black tea can also be burned and used against mosquitos, as it bares a close resemblance to a mosquito repelling incense.
To use tea bags around the house, make sure your bags are fully dry before placing in problem areas- near windows, doors, or the corners of your kitchen. Tea bags containing moisture may have the opposite effect, so ensure you put them outside for one to two days to fully dry. For your homemade mosquito repellent, remove your black tea leaves from the tea bag first before burning. Ensure the leaves are dry (read below on how to dry loose tea leaves), and place them on top of a tea burner. A tealight burning from below will create your own tea mosquito repelling incense.
The Perfect Carpet and Floor Cleaner
It may seem weird to be throwing your tea leaves onto your floor, but hear me out! Green tea leaves are great at absorbing odour and act as a magnet for hard-to-reach dirt. To use this method, simply open your tea bags and remove your tea leaves from them. Make sure your leaves are slightly damp (not wet) so they can attract the dust and dirt in your carpet or on your tiles. Sprinkle your leaves over your carpet, rugs, and tiles, and leave up to one hour to allow time for them to deodorise and attract all the dust. Once the time has elapsed, vacuum them up with your vacuum cleaner. What you have left will be a clean and odourless floor.
For people whose floorboards have become a little lacklustre, black tea does the trick in shining them right up again. As we have discovered, tannins found in black tea have proven to be very useful in our day-to-day life. The tannins are what helps to shine and enhance the warm colour back into your hardwood floor. Brew a batch of black tea (enough for your floor) and leave to cool. Using hot tea may damage your floorboards, so ensure tea has cooled to room temperature. Once you have swept your floor from any debris, dip your cloth into the tea, remove excess liquid, and then proceed to wiping it over your floorboards and leave to air dry. I recommend patch testing on a small part of flooring that you do not mind testing, just to make sure the result is desirable before you cover your whole floor. The warm colouring from black tea will help to camouflage those small scratches on your floorboards, resulting in a shiny newer looking floor.
Tea For a Restful Sleep
Tea pillows are an ancient Chinese tradition in where it is believed that sleeping on a pillow filled with tea is meant to provide numerous benefits for a person’s body and soul. According to traditional Chinese medicine, these benefits may relieve insomnia, cool the head to relieve tension and ache, help to boost the immune system to prevent cold and flu, and ground one’s soul for a restful sleep to aid in mental awareness.
Making a tea pillow requires a fair bit of leaves, so this is a project that may take a few months or more (depending on your tea intake!) Start by collecting your used tea bags and removing the leaves to begin drying them. You can either sun dry them by laying the leaves on a towel and leaving them outdoors (this is the slowest method as the time for the leaves to fully dry depends on the level of sun). You can oven dry them by placing them on a tray with baking paper, and set the oven to the lowest temperature for around one hour. Or you can microwave them by placing the leaves between two paper towels on a plate, and heat for one minute (if not dry, check in 30 second intervals until dry). Once the tea leaves are dry, store them in a sealed container and continue the process until you have enough to fill your pillow.
It is up to you if you want to be creative and make your very own personalised tea pillow from scratch, or if you want to use your current pillow. If you are concerned of staining your pillow, you can wrap your pillow in a pillowcase, then put another pillowcase on top of the first one. That is when you go to fill your pillow with your dry tea leaves, it will be protected by the pillowcase. Another thing to remember is that when we sweat during the night, the tea leaves will naturally absorb moisture, so ensure you regularly dry your pillow in the sun.
It is up to you on what type of tea leaves you would like to use. Something fragrant like jasmine green tea or lavender tea may be extra soothing as you sleep. Oolong tea is another popular tea that can also be used. But as I mentioned, the choice of tea is entirely up to you.
