Eco tip: eleven uses for used tea leaves and bags

Last Thursday’s tutorial by Ojamiya on how to make reusable tea bags inspired me to think of posting this tip on what to do with used tea bags. I started to drink more tea during the day since there is so much information on how great tea is and how it’s with loaded antioxidants. Here is an excerpt from Harvard – Benefit of drinking green tea: The proof is in — drinking tea is healthy, says Harvard Women’s Health Watch.

Tea’s health benefits are largely due to its high content of flavonoids — plant-derived compounds that are antioxidants. Green tea is the best food source of a group called catechins. In test tubes, catechins are more powerful than vitamins C and E in halting oxidative damage to cells and appear to have other disease-fighting properties. Studies have found an association between consuming green tea and a reduced risk for several cancers, including, skin, breast, lung, colon, esophageal, and bladder.

Additional benefits for regular consumers of green and black teas include a reduced risk for heart disease. The antioxidants in green, black, and oolong teas can help block the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol, increase HDL (good) cholesterol and improve artery function. A Chinese study published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed a 46%-65% reduction in hypertension risk in regular consumers of oolong or green tea, compared to non-consumers of tea.

Image: Ojamiya

So, after one cup of java in the morning, I switch to Green Tea, Black Tea, English Breakfast Tea, Earl Grey Tea, you name it, I have them throughout the day. Of course, freshly brewed tea is so much better than using tea bags but I use tea bags too. So what do I do with used tea bags or leaves? Here is what I found.

1. Water Your Plants – split cold used teabags and put them into the pots with house – plants, especially ferns and roses love this.

2. Soothe Your Eyes – you’ve done this, I’m sure, but cool used tea bags reduce swelling around the eyes. Great solution for those of us who are “women of certain age.”

3. Cure Warts – I know! Can you believe it? Tannin in teas helps cure warts. Press used teabags onto the wart, remove it, and let the skin dry naturally. Do this for a few days.

4. Dye Fabric – great for white cotton or muslin. Use strong tea for darker color. It is a natural dye that won’t run or wash out. (I used an used tea bag to stain paper for my daughter’s school project to make it look old and antique-ish. It came out perfect!)

5. Scent a Drawer – take a few used teabags that have been dried and add a couple of drops of essential oil. You can use it to make a sachet for drawers. Lavender or lemon oil work well with his.

6. Marinate Meat – use cold tea to marinate meat to tenderize.

7. Remove old Polish – soak a couple of teabags in boiling water. Allow the water to cool for a while and then soak a soft cloth in it. This can be used to wipe away old polish and dirt from furniture. Great for refinishing old furniture.

8. Clean Mirrors – Cold tea will bring a great shine to mirrors and tiles.

9. Soothe insect bites – put a cold used teabag on insect bites. The tannin will neutralize the sting.

10. Make Ice for Iced Tea – Why use ice for iced tea? Freeze leftover tea as ice cubes and use them the next time you want to make iced tea. Pour the tea over them for instant chilling.

11. Stash your used green tea bags in a glass jar in the fridge to use as cleansing pads in the morning. The bag helps exfoliate skin gently, and tea has anti-inflammatory properties, perfect for sleepy-faced puffiness.

So all you tea drinkers who were wondering what to do with all the used tea bags or tea leaves, now you can recycle them or put them in a compost instead of throwing them away.

What do you do with your used tea leaves and tea bags?

Related posts:

1. {Eco Tip} Last Minute Green Gifts for Dad
2. {Thoughts on Shops} – Juani1 – Crocheting Plastic Bags & More

Tagged as: Eco Tips

This post was written by...

ecokaren – has written 103 awesome posts on Eco Etsy.

Karen lives a simple, frugal, green life and shares her eco tips and news on ecokaren She is the proud Captain of EcoEtsy, an awesome team of enthusiastic green business owners who keep her empowered daily. She sells green goodies in her Etsy shop and writes for various green blogs. When she's not leading the team or blogging, she is a chauffeur to two greenagers, wife to an accidental recycler, master chef to hungry locavores, seamstress, knitter, and dumpster diver, not necessarily in that order.