By Kaya 959 Lifestyle
South Africans cannot resist a good cup of tea – even in summer!
But what do you do with your used rooibos or honeybush teabags when you’re done?
If you have been throwing them away, then you have been wasting some good tea.
There are many ways you can reuse your tea bags around the house.
From foot care to cleaning floors, here are eight ways you can reuse your old teabags.
READ: 10 Clever ways to save money
1. Protect Your Garden
Rebrew used tea bags in some water and use the resulting weak tea to water your plants. This will protect them from fungal infections.
1. Tenderise
Tea is an effective meat tenderiser. Simply marinate the meat in weak tea made from the used teabags for a few hours or overnight and then follow your recipe as normal.
2. Enrich Compost
The tannins and nutrients found in tea can really boost your compost. Tear open the used teabags and mix it into your soil or compost.
3. Cleaning Agent
Make a versatile cleaning solution for wood furniture or floors and make glass and mirrors super shiny and streak-free. Simply dip a damp cloth into the lukewarm tea and wipe the surfaces you want to clean.
4. Foot Care
Steep the old tea bags in a bucket of warm water to create an instant foot spa. Soak your feet in the warm, weak tea to neutralise foot odours and to soften hard, scaly skin and calluses.
5. Body Soak
Tea contains antioxidants, so soaking in a warm bath steeped with used tea bags will do wonders for your skin.
6. Banish Smells
Place a container of damp, used teabags in any small room or space to neutralise funny odours. Used tea bags are perfect for getting rid of pongy fridge smells.
7. Banish Pesky Pests
Did you know that mice don’t really like the smell of tea? Hide those used teabags in cupboards and any other areas where you might find mice or where they might come inside. To pack some more punch, soak the teabags with some peppermint essential oil, this will keep out other pests like ants and spiders as well.
8. Dish Soak
Save yourself from scrubbing and soak dishes with stubborn dirt sticking to them in some warm water with a few used teabags. The tea helps break up grease and loosen food particles.
