Cleaning coffee/tea rings out of mugs

Hillbilly · Post: # 23051Post **Hillbilly** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 2:26 pm

Enviromentally friendly way (ie no bleach, denture cleaning, Cif et...)? Have tried scrubbing with wire wooly pad, Ecover+scratchy plastic pad and just soaking and nowt seems to shift them.

Anyone got any ideas? Some sort of soaking solution?

ray7 · Post: # 23057Post **ray7** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 4:07 pm

The wife always uses salt !!

ina · Post: # 23064Post **ina** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 5:31 pm

Have you tried vinegar? I usually just scrub with an ordinary pad - but I think it depends on the material the mug is made from how easy it is to shift the stains...

(Tip: Never buy white mugs!

)

wulf · Post: # 23067Post **wulf** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 5:56 pm

I bet ketchup would do it!

Wulf

AnnetteR · Post: # 23082Post **AnnetteR** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:39 pm

Baking soda or a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. I usually sprinkle the baking soda on a wet cloth or scrub pad, then use it to wash the desired area.

Hillbilly · Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:04 pm

Thanks

a few ones to try there!

Andy Hamilton · Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:53 am

wulf wrote:I bet ketchup would do it!

Wulf

I wonder if that is the same with home made ketchup as with shop bought stuff?

wulf · Post: # 23169Post **wulf** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 2:31 pm

Maybe not quite as much but the combination of the natural qualities of tomatoes along with a bit of added sugar and vinegar still seem to have a pretty powerful cleaning effect. If I make a red sauce, I have to be careful to wash out my iron cooking pot asap rather than letting it sit overnight and losing all the patina!

Wulf

STHLMgreen · Thu Jun 15, 2006 10:51 pm

I second the baking soda. You can clean just about anything with it.

multiveg · Post: # 23894Post **multiveg** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 9:42 am

Horsetail

Hillbilly · Tue Jun 20, 2006 10:48 am

pardon?

wulf · Post: # 23913Post **wulf** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 11:39 am

Tails from horses... or the deep rooted weed? I've heard of the latter used as an abrasive cleaner but, if it's nowhere near your garden, you probably want to keep it that way as I understand it's rather hard to get rid of.

Wulf

ina · Post: # 23929Post **ina** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 2:49 pm

It's also called mare's tail!

hedgewizard · Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:32 pm

... or equisetum. The plant makes spicules (tiny needle-shaped crystals) of silica, god knows why, which makes it a useful scourer.

Boots · Post: # 26079Post **Boots** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:05 pm

This one will sound nuts - as I thought it was nuts when I saw an Aboriginal doing it, but it works!

She used dirt!

She cleaned frypans, pots and coffee cups with coarse sand/dirt from the bank of a creek, and I'm tellin ya, I have never seen pots and stained mugs come up quicker or cleaner!

Might be worth trying next time your camping?