Oh the horror of lip marks on your teacups. But let’s face it, folks, life is messy. When your teacup gets those nasty lip marks on it that never seem to wash off and just keep building up, your life can seem even messier, bordering on total disaster. Lipstick is, of course, a culprit here, as are lip balms. But even when your lips are bare, they can leave residue behind. Bits of skin and oils combined with tea (trying to be delicate, but the truth is a necessity). Improperly cleaning the teacup after imbibing a tasty tea can really exacerbate the problem.

Here’s a way to get rid of even the worst lip marks:

Wash thoroughly after every use to avoid buildup.

Ha! Just kidding, although that’s not a bad idea. When you wash your cup, it can be easy to do a quick job of it. Tea is, after all, just a liquid. You might even be tempted simply to rinse out your teacup. But you must resist. Grab that sponge or dishcloth, get it wet with hot water, and add some dishwashing liquid. Then, commence thoroughly scrubbing that teacup, with careful attention being paid to the rim. Do this after every use of the teacup. It will assure a nice clean taste experience for the next use.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “Geez, why do you feel it necessary to tell us this?” The reason is simple: I am guilty of the horror of lip marks on my teacups and until recently would merely rinse my special teacup (the one I use on a daily basis for that wake-up cuppa and later for that lunch time cuppa, afternoon cuppa, evening cuppa, etc.) after use. Don’t worry, it’s a cup that only I use. The rest of our dishes get the full wash up treatment.

You folks used to having guests in for tea will understand the importance of serving that tea in very clean teacups, free of any lip marks, especially where lipstick is involved. Just be sure to scrub thoroughly after each use (some dishwashing machines don’t quite do the job, so you may have to scrub a bit before putting the cups in the machine). Then your nice clean teacups will be free of that horror and be ready for the next use.

See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.

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