Fancy a cuppa? A cup of afternoon tea has been proven to both beneficial for health, thanks to the antioxidants in each leaf. But did you know that tea can also be used to clean mirrors to a sparkling clean shine? Neither did we, until we ran into a couple jewelry sites that made mention of the multi-purpose nature of good the good leaf.

What You Need

Materials

• Depending upon task, black, mint or cinnamon tea all work well
  
• Pot or kettle
  
• Spray bottle
  
• Reusable cleaning cloth
  
• Vacuum

Tea Uses Around the House

• If you fancy mint tea, you can use the tea to spritz around the home to deter mice (they apparently dislike the odour of mint).
• If cinnamon or vanilla spice are your cup of tea, save a couple of bags to use as a non-toxic, natural alternative to carpet powders. As a reputed flea inhibitor, a tea carpet freshener will imbue a pleasant, mild scent onto your rug, while also deodorizing the vacuum bag upon being vacuumed up.
• Another household use is using brewed unsweetened black with a spray bottle for hardwood floor cleanup and shine duty. Use a spray bottle to apply and wipe away, and your floors will be left with a shine with the floor's grain more evident. The tea method is especially at reviving older, dull wood floors or cabinetry.

Tea...good for the body and home!

Originally posted February 13, 2007

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(Image: Gregory Han)