Not Soap Or Vinegar: Remove Stubborn Coffee Mug Stains With A Simple Cleaner

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Are your favorite coffee cups marred with those ugly, brown rings? Many people treat these tough-to-bust stains and discolored drinkware with vinegar or soap. Instead, there's another quick and easy solution to make your coffee cups look as good as new again. A dash of Bar Keeper's Friend (BKF) and a bit of water will do the trick without having to use a ton of elbow grease. This tip is recommended by various cleaning blogs and touted across social media as an effective and quick option for tackling stubborn coffee stains. BKF will also bring life back to scratched dishware, removing marks from stirring your spoon in your cup of Joe.

Whether you're dealing with stains in traditional ceramic drinkware or stainless steel thermoses and travel mugs, BKF is safe to use. This famous cleanser works on porcelain, ceramic, glass, and stainless steel, making it perfect for any coffee cup. This nifty hack is also effective for stained coffee pots or carafes, and may even help to eliminate coffee rings on countertops.

If you don't already have a can of the cleaner stashed under your kitchen sink, it's extremely cost effective. Target sells a 21 ounce container of Bar Keeper's Friend All-Purpose Powdered Cleanser for under $3. The brand's soft cleanser should work just as well for removing coffee mug marks. Though BKF makes a specific product for cleaning coffee makers, the regular cleanser should be sufficient.

Coffee is known for leaving stubborn stains on hard surfaces like mugs and even people's teeth. The common morning drink gets its dark pigmentation and its propensity for causing stains from the tannins within the liquid. Tannins come from natural chemical compounds that are found in various plants. Sofia Martinez, cleaning expert and CEO of Sparkly Maid Austin, tells Martha Stewart why Bar Keeper's Friend is effective for these types of stains. "It works because that same mild abrasive and acidity that tackles hard water deposits is equally effective on the tannin stains left behind by coffee and tea," Martinez says.

Martinez explains that cleaners like dish soap will struggle to lift stains from tannins, while BKF is better suited for this discoloration. Just like how BKF can break down those crusty, white stains left behind by hard water, it can lift the brown marks from your mugs. Since it works well against tannins in general, BKF is a good method for cleaning tea stains from stainless steel or brightening your dingy ceramic teacups as well.

There are tons of satisfying Bar Keeper's Friend cleaning hacks out there, and this one is incredibly easy. Be sure to wear gloves while working with the product. Pour a little bit of your BKF cleansing powder in the bottom of a stained mug, and add a small amount of water. Lightly scrub the drinkware with a sponge. For really tough stains, try scrubbing with an old toothbrush or steel wool. Within a few seconds, your mug should be cleaned and refreshed. Rinse the cleanser out of the coffee cup after the stains have disappeared and wash as you normally would. Note that BKF does not disinfect, so you will need to wash with soap after ridding the mug of stains.

If you're using the liquid, soft version of BKF, the method is very similar. Squirt a little of the cleanser into the mug and scrub it around with a sponge before rinsing. Glass coffee pots may have more difficult stains. To treat your carafe, add a bit water and BKF to it and leave it to soak for a few moments. Finally, rinse and wash the coffee pot. If you're having trouble completely removing the marks, consider trying Bar Keeper's Friend Coffee Maker Cleaner.