If you are a regular coffee drinker at home, there’s a good chance that many of your cups and mugs are discoloured and stained. Instead of hiding them in the back of a kitchen cupboard or throwing them away, you can restore them to their former glory with the right cleaning methods.
Here’s a simple guide on how to remove coffee stains from mugs and cups — and it involves using things you may already have lying around your kitchen.
Lemons
Lemons aren’t just for baking and cold drinks — they can be used to clean a range of household surfaces. The acidity in lemons cuts through tough stains and grease, and leaves a wonderful aroma behind. And believe it or not, just one lemon could be enough to clean all of your mugs and cups.
Cut a fresh lemon into quarters, and squeeze a little juice onto the stained area of the cup. Make sure the entire stain is in contact with the juice, and give it around 15 minutes of contact time. Take a dampened microfibre cloth and rub the lemon juice into the coffee stains. Once you’re happy that the stains have gone, rinse out the cup with cold water.
Tip: Repeat the process if you aren’t happy with the results, and add a little salt to the cup if the stains are proving particularly stubborn.
Salt
It might surprise you to discover that everyday table salt might be enough to finally get rid of those annoying coffee stains that have been blighting your cups for so long. Salt acts as a powerful scouring agent that ‘scrapes’ stains away.
To clean your coffee-stained mugs with salt, you first need to wet the inside of them with cold warm water. Liberally sprinkle the salt into the mug, ensuring that all of the stained areas are covered. Use a damp microfibre cloth to rub the salt into the stains. Working in small, circular motions will probably deliver the best results.
Once you’re happy that the stains have been lifted, rinse out the cup with cold water. If you’re still not happy with the results, repeat the process from the start.
Vinegar
Just like lemon juice, white vinegar is an acid that is capable of cutting through coffee stains with ease. However, this methods requires the use of your microwave.
Heat up a bowl of white vinegar in your microwave for around 60 seconds. Wearing rubber gloves and oven mitts over the top, pour the hot vinegar into your stained coffee cups — and allow them to soak for three hours.
Empty the vinegar, and rinse each cup with clean water. You should see the stains wash away, but give them a wipe with a microfibre cloth to help them on their way.
Baking soda
If you have some baking soda in your kitchen at all times, there’s virtually nothing you can’t clean naturally and effectively. This versatile ingredient isn’t just for baking, it’s also great at removing coffee stains from cups and mugs.
Start by sprinkling some baking soda liberally over the stains. Add a little water to make a paste, and spread it around so all of the stains are covered. Give the paste around 30 minutes of contact time, and then rub it into the stains with a microfibre cloth. Rinse the cup to remove all the residues, and repeat the process if necessary.
You don’t need to buy expensive cleaning agents to remove those unsightly stains from your coffee cups — natural ingredients and a little elbow grease should do the trick.
