How to Remove Stains from a Ceramic Coffee Mug

As a seasoned coffee drinker who has more than one favorite ceramic coffee mug I’ve noticed the cup, over time, has lost that newness in terms of color. I have found that there are several easy and practical ways to clean the coffee stains from ceramic mugs. The de-staining methods can easily be done at home without having to buy any special cleaning solutions or devices.

How to clean a stained coffee mug with baking soda and vinegar

This Eco-friendly solution is as follows:
Step One: Get out the baking soda and vinegar.
Step Two: Sprinkle some of the baking soda in the empty coffee mug, enough to cover the stained areas inside.
Step Three: Pour in about 1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar to cover the baking soda, and wait until you see the mixture fizz and bubble for a 10-20 seconds.
Step Four: Use a dish sponge or a kitchen cloth and scrub the insides of the coffee mug, in the areas of the mug that have the coffee stains.
Final Step: Rinse the renewed favorite coffee mug with water and stand back and observe the fresh colors, or whites, glow in the restored newness you always loved.

Note on this coffee mug cleaning method: You can repeat this process a few times until the stains are completely gone. Baking soda with the vinegar is an old school powerful cleaning solution that can remove food stains, or in this case: coffee stains.

The Classic Lemon and Salt Method for Cleaning Coffee Mugs

Lemon and salt are two common kitchen ingredients that are great for removing the stains from ceramic coffee mugs.
Step One: Cut a lemon in half and add some salt on the cut side.
Step Two: Use the lemon half as a sponge and rub it around the inside of the coffee mug, especially on the coffee stained area.
Final Step: Rinse the coffee mug with water to remove the lemon and salt solution. You can also use lemon juice, but you’ll need a nice clean kitchen sponge, or a sponge you use just for cleaning out your coffee mugs.

Everyone who uses this method should have a sponge that is just used for cleaning stains from coffee mugs.

Can You use Denture Tablets to Clean Out a Stained Coffee Mug?

Denture tablets seem like a strange ‘learned it from grandma‘ solution for cleaning coffee mug stains, but the denture tablet can easily clean out a stained coffee mug.

Step One: Fill the stained coffee mug with hot water, enough to cover all of the stained area in the mug or mugs.
Step Two: Add a denture tablet and let the denture fizz and dissolve for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Step Three: Using a dish sponge or a cloth, scrub around the inside of the mug, focusing on the stained areas of the inside of the coffee mug.
Final Step: Rinse the now Like New coffee mug with water to remove the denture tablet solution.

The denture tablets work similarly to the lemon and salt solution in removing the coffee stains, or tea stains from your favorite coffee mug or mugs.

As you have most likely experienced, seeing stains in your favorite ceramic coffee mugs can be a very sad experience, but with the three coffee stain cleaning methods here, you’ll be able to restore your favorite coffee or tea mug to the near new state.

There you have it – easy cleaning methods to use on your stained coffee mugs. Let us know what solution you found to be the quickest and easiest to perform in your kitchen.

No need to throw away that stained coffee mug now that you have a way to clean out the stains without buying any special coffee mug cleaning device or solutions.