12 awesome things you can do with used tea bags

Tea helps in combatting dark circles around the eye. Photo taken from stylestreatment.com

Star Online Report

Have you ever thought how many awesome things a used tea bag can do?  Don’t throw away that teabag because besides being a great drink, tea has quite a few household uses, reports Pulptastic.

1. Heals canker sores

Canker sores are little white open sores in the mouth which is a result of allergies or nutritional deficiency. Canker sores can be treated by tea bags as tea contains tannic acid, which is an astringent and has anti-inflammatory properties.

2. Helps recover bruising and stops bleeding

The tannic acid (and caffeine) in tea bags can help in healing minor cuts and shrinks open capillaries and wounds, reduces swelling and bruising, closes paper cuts and treats razor burns.

3. Soothe your eyes

If someone is suffering from fierce dark circles, it is advisable that they use tea bags on their eyes. Dark circles appear either because the rest of the skin has paled, or if under-eye blood circulation increases. To reduce dark circles, it is advised to lay back and put tea backs on the lower eyelids for a few minutes.

4. Heal sunburn

Tea bags make excellent soothing remedy for sunburns. Squeeze excess tea from the tea bag, then gently rub over the burns.

5. Toughen broken skin.

For those who like punching without gloves for sport, tea bags can help drain excess liquid from boils and blisters, as well as soothe pain and promote the healing of broken skin to make it tougher next time around.

6. Deodorize the fridge.

Tea bags absorb unpleasant odors, from everywhere and in cases of a smelly fridge a couple used tea bags will be the best remedy. For shoes, closets and window sills, unused tea bags can maximize moisture absorption.

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7. Help nurse your plants.

Tea bags have numerous benefits for plants. Tannic acids and other natural polyphenols in tea promote better and stronger plant growth.

8. Make homemade cleaning solutions.

Soaking dirty dishes in a tea solution breaks apart grease, and the same principle can be applied to mirrors, tables, furniture, and even the face. Yeah, tea cuts through facial grease, so tea bags can be used as decent homemade toner.

9. Protect the pots and pans from rust.

The tannins in tea, when rubbed all over a cast-iron pot, or a classical paella pan, prevents rust by delaying oxidation — similar to how ascorbic acid blocks oxidation in cut fruit, only for much longer.

10. Make scratches on wood furniture disappear.

Tea is a natural dye, and a tea bag is a quick fix for covering up light scratches on wood. It can be utilized to make an after-shampoo solution that will leave the hair colored and moisturized and also helps to combat hair graying.

11. Enrich your compost.

Tea’s polyphenols and phytochemicals are great in compost — tea nourishes seedlings, encourages growth, and speeds up decomposition within compost.

12. Tenderize tough cuts of meat.

Marinating meat in broth infused with tea will help tenderize it effectively, as the tannins in the tea break down muscle fibers in tougher cuts of meat, meaning you can enjoy your stroganoff that much more.