1 Deodorizing

Kitchen: Leftover vegetable leaves, roots, rice, etc., often release moisture and cause odor when thrown into the trash. If you slightly drain the kitchen waste and cover it with a layer of dried used tea leaves or mix dried tea leaves in, it can effectively prevent odors.

Burning used tea leaves in the bathroom or poorly ventilated areas can also eliminate bad odors (but be careful with fire).

Furniture: New wooden furniture, such as tables, chairs, and cabinets, often has a strong paint smell. Wiping them a few times with used tea water or wet tea leaves can gradually reduce the paint odor.

For newly renovated houses, you can put expired tea into dry tea bags and place them around the room to absorb paint smells.

Shoes and socks: Put expired dry tea or dried tea leaves into a nylon sock and stuff it into shoes to absorb moisture and remove odors.

In northern homes with heating during winter, pour out the water from leftover tea, slightly drain it, spread a cloth on the radiator, and evenly scatter the tea leaves on it. The tea’s fragrance will rise with the steam and spread through the room, creating a fresh and pleasant atmosphere.

2 Removing Dust, Grease, and Stains

Doors, windows, and furniture: For painted doors, windows, furniture, mirrors, or glass surfaces with dust, wiping them with cold used tea leaves can make them especially bright and clean.

Food and drink items: Put expired tea leaves into a thermos to soak and remove limescale. Repeated soaking works better. Using leftover tea or used tea water to wash pots, pans, and kitchen utensils can effectively remove grease and oil stains, making them cleaner.

Clothing: Use tea leaves to wipe mud stains off leather shoes for good results. For oil stains on dark clothes, rub them with used tea leaves to remove the stains.

3 Mold Prevention and Moisture Removal

Tea leaves have a strong ability to absorb moisture. Dry expired tea or sun-dried used tea leaves, put them in a cloth or kraft paper bag, and seal it. Before the rainy season or during humid weather, place the bags in areas prone to mold, such as under beds, in shoe cabinets, in wooden furniture, especially in wardrobes, inside pillows, or in bedroom corners, to effectively remove moisture. Tea bags that become damp can be dried in the sun and reused.

4 Clothing Care

For brightly colored clothes that have faded, soaking them in water made from expired tea leaves can help restore their original color (but rinse several times with warm water afterward).

Washing woolen clothes with tea water can remove dirt and help keep colors bright.

Silk clothes generally cannot be cleaned with chemical detergents. You can boil used or expired tea leaves in water and use the tea liquid to wash silk clothes, helping maintain their original luster and cleanliness.

5 Making Pillow Fills and Sachets

Put expired dry tea or sun-dried used tea leaves into a cloth bag to make a soft, fragrant pillow fill. They can also be used to make small sachets.

Using tea leaves as a pillow fill makes a soft pillow that can help reduce “head heat” and is especially beneficial for people with high blood pressure or insomnia. During hot, humid weather, a tea-leaf pillow can help absorb sweat and moisture from the neck, preventing eczema. In the bedroom, a tea pillow can purify odors from breathing and dust mites in the air, and the soft tea leaves can also absorb nighttime noise.

Tea sachets can be hung anywhere for a pleasant fragrance. However, both pillows and sachets should be kept away from water, and tea pillows need regular sun-drying.

6 Potted Plant Fertilizer

Leftover tea or used tea liquid can be sealed in a bottle to ferment, then diluted to water potted plants — a simple and economical fertilizer. Watering plant roots with tea water can promote growth and make leaves greener and glossier.

Brewed tea leaves still contain inorganic salts and carbohydrates, which can help plants grow when buried in garden soil or flower pots.

7 Other Uses

Preservation: Soak meat in 5% tea water for a while before refrigerating to help keep it fresh longer. Bury fresh eggs in clean, dry used tea leaves or expired dry tea and store in a cool, dry place to keep them fresh for about 2 to 3 months.

Mosquito repellent: Burning dried tea leaves or expired dry tea can repel mosquitoes. It is harmless to humans and has a pleasant fragrance.

Isn’t it amazing? — Tea leaves have so many uses besides drinking and eating! Write them down now, so next time you have leftover tea, used tea leaves, or expired tea, you can put them to good use!