How To Keep Your Enamel Mug Sparkling

The other day I looked inside my enamel mug and recoiled in disgust. I had left some old tea at the bottom of the mug and it has stared to m...

The other day I looked inside my enamel mug and recoiled in disgust. I had left some old tea at the bottom of the mug and it has stared to mold. I had left the cup on my office desk over the weekend, but in my defence I’d been caught up in the happiness of the weekend finally arriving, I’d forgotten to ditch the excess tea. Anyway, on Monday morning I was faced with this delight to deal with, which was the last thing I wanted to do. When I threw out the leftover water into the sink with the mold floating around, I noticed the tea had also nicely in-printed itself into the cup, and formed one of those annoying stain rings. Upon realization of this new cleaning hurdle I buried my hands in my face.



Unfortunately, I’d forgotten the cardinal sin about Enamel mugs, and that’s they stain terribly. When tannin stains build up, it means a lot of elbow grease is required from the mug’s owner. Feeling like a mug myself, I realized this was the first time I’d had to clean my Beautiful Enamel Mug.

I had been given the mug as a gift in a Kris Kringle last year. At first I had been underwhelmed by the gift and really wanted my So Fresh CD back. However, once back at work after Christmas, I begrudgingly put my mug to use. Let’s face it, I could hardly not use it as it had been given to me by a colleague.

As soon as I poured the boiling water in the enamel mug and clasped my hands around it, I knew I would never return to normal mugs. With the mug keeping my tea hot for much longer periods of time than any other inferior cup, I sipped hot teas and chocolate from it all year around. I had diligently washed the cup every day, however, of course with the weekend on my mind, I’d forgotten.

Anyway, I digress; back to cleaning the cups. In order to revert the now dark flexked, dirty looking cup back to its former glory, I would have to pull up my sleeves and give it a deep cleaning. I decided work was no place to perform a proper clean, so I sipped on those awful inferior normal mugs all day before taking my enamel one home.

I knew harsh chemicals would be determental to my cup, so I decided to use the more natural alternative. According to Google, this more natural approach was also more convenient, as I had the ingredients already sitting in my pantry. All I needed was baking soda, a cloth and water. At first I was a little cynical because I’ve only ever heard baking soda be used to puff up cakes. However, I followed Google’s advice and cloth into water and then the baking soda. I then started attacking the stain. I was really surprised how well the natural formula worked. It appears baking soda is actually an ideal cleaner, as it is abrasive enough to eliminate stains, but does not cause any cracks.

Following my deep clean, I decided it was time to expand my enamel mug collection. With some more searching online I discovered Ardena Imports offering a range of cool enamel mugs. For those who want to join me on the enamel mug revolution, check out the Ardena Import range at Ardenaimports.com.au.