Got a tip for you if your tea mugs come out of the dishwasher stained ...

[LindorDoubleChoc]

We always had this problem. We like our tea made with a Yorkshire tea bag in a mug and brewed long and strong. But our mugs never came out of the d/w clean, even on a 60 degree wash programme.

So ... (are you gripped yet?) ... after reading threads on MN assuring us that the Eco programme costs less in terms of heat and electricity, even though it runs longer, we have switched to the Eco wash and honestly everything comes out cleaner AND drier. The tea mugs are white again, it's so satisfying.

Give it a go!

Bumping cos I want to share the joy.

I always use the eco programme and my mugs are always spotless even though I drink black tea and coffee.

@LindorDoubleChoc gripped and amazed I'll be trying that one tonight 😁

Tiny squirt of bleach in cup - top up to brim with cold water. Leave a few minutes. Job done.

(Not everybody uses a dishwasher)

You need to rinse each mug a LOT though afterwards. It's a pain in the arse

Bicarb and boiling water. Leave to get cold.Lifts the tannin stains off. You might have to scrub a bit but that's preferable to bleach in mugs you drink from

Soda crystals too for the non dishwasher crew.

I'm 😁at 'are you gripped yet?'
I was!
I use the magic sponges for an extra scrub once in a while.

My mother doesn't have a dishwasher and drinks lots of tea. She soaks them in denture tablets to clean them!

I use Milton's

I fill my teapot with boiling water and chuck in a couple of the cheapest denture tablets, it's comes up spotless!

I don't use the dishwasher that much as I live alone, however I do have tea and coffee stained mugs every bloody day!

My late mum advised me to put a teaspoon of salt in the mug and get a sponge scrub to it. It really works and no electricity or (that much) water used either. Takes a minute.

I was gripped from the title alone! And ever so excited as this is a daily battle in our house. But alas! We have been using our eco setting since day one. And our cups and mugs still emerge stained. It’s so frustrating. I think we live in a particularly hard water area.

I'd check your smart meter to compair,my eco uses way more energy than quick

Just be super-careful about accidental ingestion. I work in A&E and am constantly amazed at the number of people who manage to drink bleach and other nasties accidentally.

I drink strong Yorkshire Gold, I use a dishwasher which dries by special appointment only known to itself (Siemens) and for that it is a heap of very overpriced modern crap. However, I don't get stained mugs unless I use cheap shitty dishwasher tablets.

Some of the bad ones were Lidl and Ecover. Lidl, just generally bad and Ecover used to be OK but are now just crap, as are Green by Sainsburys, they leave grease in the filter even on the hottest cycles. The very basic Finish ones with no rinse aid and only one colour are also crap.

Rinse aid helps although I use white vinegar.

Look at what is in your dishwasher tablets and do some research into the ingredients, you will find that the good stuff has been taken out and been replaced with enzymes and copies of the things that used to work. Then look for a better brand, some suit certain machines more than others and some of them are rubbish for all of them.

I buy a powder called Astonish cup clean or something like that. Works a treat.

Dark colours inside the mugs - so you just don't care 😆

Same!

Now this is a good tip ... just need to find the denture cleaning tablets from when the kids had braces.

I used to use the eco setting but found it used more energy than the other settings. It does use less water, but as we aren't on a meter that doesn't make a difference to us. I suppose different machines must be different. I put a squirt of antibac with bleach in the mugs before dishwashing and they come out nice and shiny.

"I'd check your smart meter to compair,my eco uses way more energy than quick"

This

My dishwasher repair man told me never to use the Eco setting as it reduces the life of the machine.

My eco setting uses less energy than the other settings but it's still something like 50p a cycle, so not cheap compared to washing by hand. Dishes do come out dryer than the other settings, I've noticed.

Good point for those with tots around.

I leave the mug in the washing-up bowl, and put the bleach bottle in the bowl beside it. No kids in the house, so no worries about a small child drinking it. Everyone else in the house apart from me avoids anything resembling washing- up like the plague!