Keeping Stains Away When You're a Coffee/Tea Drinker

If there is one significant downside to drinking tea all of the time, it's the potential for stains.  This applies to coffee drinkers too.  It's not just your teeth it can stain but also your mugs.  I actually gave someone toothpaste as a stocking stuffer one year, touting we tried it, loved it and were giving it to everyone because I didn't have the heart to tell them "brush yo brown @ss teeth!"  They drink as much tea as I do, and I don't know if they were a once a day brusher, but that doesn't fly in a regular coffee or tea drinker's life.  Unless you like looking like you have tootsie rolls for teeth.

These are a few of the things I use to keep my whites pearly and my mugs not looking like a horror show.  (This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.  Should you buy through them, I may receive a few cents commission toward blog expenses.)

Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 5100 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush

(Source: Amazon.com)

The dentist told the Mr he should get an electric toothbrush some years ago and we've never looked back.  I truly noticed a difference after we got it and this one is our favorite.  It has a travel case and we take it on all of our trips with us.  If we're going for under two weeks we don't need to take the base charger.  Ours typically last for 4-7 years and it's totally worth it if you're looking to make the switch from manual.  It goes a long way to help remove stains.


Arm & Hammer Bright & Strong Truly Radiant Toothpaste

(Source: Amazon.com)

When people ask what I like most about myself, I always say my smile.  I have perfectly straight teeth without ever having had braces.  The last thing I want my tea obsession to do is to make them look dingy and brown.  We've tried our fair share of toothpaste, and this is the only one that keeps my teeth truly white by brushing twice a day.  I will tell you a secret about all whitening toothpaste, you NEED to brush off any residue afterward with water on the brush.  If you just swish and any is left in your mouth, it will actually yellow your teeth!  I suspected this after noticing my teeth weren't getting whiter, and the top base of our electric toothbrush had dark yellow almost tartar like build up on it even though we both rinse it off after using it.  I scraped it with my fingernails, and it came off!  So I started rinsing off the brush, then brush my whole mouth again and my tongue to get any residue out of the crevices and noticed a difference within a week!

Crest White Strips

(Source: Amazon.com)

Don't groan!  I know these get a bad rap for sensitivity issues, and even I had them when I used them a few days in a row initially years ago.  Once I started using that toothpaste above, I found I only needed to use 2-3 strips over a one to two week period every 8 months or so to brighten my smile.  They also have a sensitive formula.  I am not a fan of fake white smiles that many celebs or influencers sport these days.  This helps me maintain an "I take care of my teeth, and there's no way I drink tea" look that looks natural.  If you prefer something else, this AuraGlow gets good results from what I've heard, I just can't vouch for it myself.


Colgate Mini Disposable Toothbrushes

(Source: Amazon.com)

If it's been a tea heavy day or I've had a lot of green tea, I will notice my teeth getting visibly dull during the day.  I don't want that to set in, so I keep a bag of these babies handy where I work.  I don't use them every day, but with certain teas or a lot more than usual, a brush with these helps to keep the staining from becoming more stubborn to get off.  Also great to keep in your desk drawer for after that tuna fish sandwich or something else that no one else wants to smell.  They are part of a special recycling program, too, so read the info on the bag if you're worried about environmental issues.



Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Sheets

(Source: Amazon.com)

Your teeth aren't the only thing stained by your tea or coffee, your mugs are put through their paces.  If you think even a go-round in the sanitize cycle of your dishwasher is going to make your mugs sparkle, denial ain't just a river in Egypt!  This mug was run through on such a cycle:

Yeah, that's gross.  A diner we used to go to always served my tea in mugs like that, and even though I know they were probably clean, I stopped ordering tea there because it was so gross.  One swipe of these Magic Eraser sheets before running them through the dishwasher, and those babies are sparkling clean!

This is something you'll have to do regularly with every other cycle unless you refill the same mug all day, then it'll be every time you use it.  It's worth it, though, because imagine your mugs looking like that as you serve someone at your house this holiday season.  Don't nobody wanna drink outta that!!  I like to cut the sheets into three, use it once, rinse well then one more time before tossing that strip.  Frugal is sometimes my middle name.

Finally, if you have an electric tea kettle that is glass, you may notice a brown ring from the heating element on the bottom.  I use this long bottle cleaning brush and some baking soda with warm water to get it off.  It actually seems to protect it for much longer.  It's been about 8 days since I did that and no ring has come back at all and that's with prolonged warming on.

You can avoid deeper stains by using straws or adding a splash of cream to your tea as well, but it'll creep up on you.  You can also swish your mouth with a drink of water and kind of "brush" your teeth with your tongue.  It's a temporary solution to not have all of that crap sitting on your enamel until you can brush.

How do you keep your pearly whites white, especially if you're a coffee/tea drinker?

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