TeaChat

I made the mistake recently of storing some Lapsang Souchong in my tea tin. Now the thing smells like Barbeque! I've tried washing it repeatedly with soap and water, yet nothing seems to want to take the smell out. Do you guys have any ideas as to what I could use to possibly neutralize the smell so I can go back to storing my fine Darjeelings in my favorite tin?

Mix baking soda and a little vanilla -just to the point of a thick paste- scrub it on and leave it set for a day then rinse.

Soaking in vinegar will also take away the smell but can discolor the tin also so it would be a last resort.

Thanks garden gal, I will try that now!

The baking soda method is a good general method for cleaning odours from anything, however I'd be wary of using the vanilla... sounds like it could leave an undesireable flavouring behind.

Also - if you've ever added baking soda to tea, you'll find it reacts the same way that it does when you add vinegar (I've done it. Don't ask. ). It releases a lot of gas and bubbles like crazy. There's a major chemical reaction between baking soda and brewed tea. Baking soda is also notoriously difficult to rinse away, as it will get into the pores of most materials. Sooo... it's possible that it might not be a good thing to put in your tea tins.

Not sure, but I'd be careful.

Here's a method for cleaning glass pots that I learned a long time ago when I was a waitor in a trashy diner. It should work for tins also (though I haven't tried it).

Rinse the pot with boiling water. Empty it. Dump a teaspoon or two of table salt in the pot. Put about a cup or two of ice cubes in the pot. Sqeeze out a couple lemons wedges into the pot, and then toss the wedges in. Swish around indefinately until your arm gets tired, or the ice melts... whichever comes first. Dump the stuff out. Rinse with hot water again.

I'm not sure what is happening, chemically speaking, exactly.. But it cleans the grimy brown deposit from the bottom of those pots like nothing else, and removes (and doesn't leave) any odour.

Give it a try on your tins, and see what happens!

Hope that helps,
Troy

If the other suggestions don't work, try using a couple tablespoons of aquarium charcoal or ground coffee. After being hit with 2 hurricanes in 3 weeks a year and a half ago, charcoal and coffee were the only things that worked on my fridge (you would never believe what can happen to a fridge after 4 days without power in the Florida heat.) Good luck and..............

Happy sipping..........

Ron

thanks again for the replies!

Bah this smell is impossible. I'm going to have to just get a new tin. Thanks anyway guys

javyn wrote:Thanks garden gal, I will try that now!

Soooo makes garden gal sound like a super hero!

Or someone who cleans a LOT of stinky things!!!

By the way, baking soda and vanilla do their own little happy dance together so the spit and fire is all out of the baking soda when it hits the tea pot.

How about bleach?

Know it might sound simple, but try table salt and ice cubes. Swirl them around until the ice is melted. We have used this to clean out our junk in the coffee pots at work.

Good luck,

Ann

Oops! Should have read all clearly, illium you mentioned the same advice. Oh well, good luck with your favorite tin. I hope one of these suggestions helps.

Ann