Brace yourselves guys, ‘cause I’m about to go full-on housewife. This stuff is as close to a miracle product, actually-like-as-seen-on-TV-demos as I’ve ever tried. I’m lazy and used to a routine with my teaware where I just rinse it out daily, and then perhaps 2 times a week I’ll go at it all with the usual suspects—baking soda, white vinegar or lemon juice, occasionally something a touch more exotic like cream of tartar or citric acid or Bon Ami etc. And it does an ok job—respectable but not squeaky,-just-out-of-the-box immaculate and bright. You know, where there’ll be a couple hard to reach spots or ridges or whatever that have faint tannin discoloration no matter what (in particular, I was convinced the tannin stains on the inner bottom of my For Life basket and the thin glass spouts of my teapots were here to stay). Also, the Breville is nice (though I would say now definitively I prefer the Zoji if you have to choose one), but one thing that’s rough is it’s a little bit of a pain to clean (to do it properly you have to leave it overnight and boil and reboil and all that, which means no insta-morning tea!) and stains very easily, with the section behind the magnetic arm that’s nearly impossible to delicately/safely reach to clean well. But I was thinking, you know…a life of tea means some slight stains on a few hard-to-reach spots you just live with. Not a big deal. But I do sometimes get self-conscious when guests are here, wondering if they think those things are filthy or something.
Well no more. Now I know if/when it really matters, bringing everything back to brand spankin’ new condition is no sweat. Today I took a tablespoon of Smart Soak and 8 cups of boiling water (straight from the Zoji!) and submerged or poured it into or onto everything that had those sorts of pesky stains—lots of pouring back and forth between teapots to reach the spouts, dunking brew baskets in and then once they came out pouring that water into tea cups, what have you. And my gosh. I didn’t even have to wait the 10 minute soak time. Everything dipped in when the water was truly hot came out sparkling, factory-new immaculate immediately (the aforementioned For Life basket is so shiny it’s like a looking glass—ALL of it too, the bottom that no amount of scrubbing or homemade remedy chemical reaction could budge, the rim, everything). !!!! I felt like that Billy whatshisname guy from the informercials. And nothing was damaged, no paint or images or anything. No harsh fumes either; simply some effervescence and watching those yellow-brown tannins instantly bleed from the gear into the water. MAGIC. I was worried I’d have to use a lot for it to be effective, or that it’d smell harsh or potentially harmful, or make a mess, or require long soak times. Nope. No cleaning product has ever delivered on what it promised to this extent. I am so, so grateful Dexter3657, Azzrian, and other Steepsters sang its praises enough to convince me to bother to try it. I don’t ever want to be without this stuff—if Mandala ever announces they’re pulling it (the horrors!), I’ll be first in line to stock up on the remaining tubs. Fantastic product (especially on stainless steel, glass, and tumblers, but really everything).
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i need this ! if only something like this could be done for humans…
That’s it, you’re hired for all our infomercials :) I am so happy that you are diggin’ on this product. Your review made me smile and had me nodding my head with understanding and agreement. Thank you for writing this up!
And boychik, if you’re trying to get rid of pesky humans, just serve them really bad tea :)
I promise not to scream like that Billy dude in the infomercial, Garret. Tea is too calming an influence. (: And thank YOU for offering this product!
boychik, I’d be down for sending you a sample to try but I’m not sure how the post office would feel about it…mysterious white powder in a little baggie. Ehrm…
You are so funny lol. Every time I go to PO the same lady keeps asking me what’s inside. I keep saying samples. After several times she asked “samples of what?”
I decided not to mention that its tea. I changed the subject to weather is awful ….
yeah, i remember the first time i sent tea to canadian steepsters and the customs form, the guy’s like “loose tea? is it like, just loose in the box, or in baggies?” and i’m like “uh little baggies” and he asked how many and i was all “6 i think?” and thinking in the back of my mind “he’s probably wondering what the heck my deal is…”
LOL, I was waiting to hear “it cuts, chops, serrates and makes julienne fries!”
Do you think this would be good at getting rid of scent that clings onto things? I’m specifically thinking of cilacone (the inner lid of the timolino has osme on it). This stuff sounds amazing!
Hm, good question! I almost tacked on a disclaimer at the end that the miraculousness referred to tea tannin stains only; my stuff was clean otherwise of other sorts of detritus. I’m not sure…the lemon juice/vinegar trick tends to work for me, so my stuff didn’t have a smell to it. I will try to remember to run a little mini test and find out, keychange!
You made me laugh, Morgana! Thanks. (:
i need this ! if only something like this could be done for humans…
That’s it, you’re hired for all our infomercials :) I am so happy that you are diggin’ on this product. Your review made me smile and had me nodding my head with understanding and agreement. Thank you for writing this up!
And boychik, if you’re trying to get rid of pesky humans, just serve them really bad tea :)
I promise not to scream like that Billy dude in the infomercial, Garret. Tea is too calming an influence. (: And thank YOU for offering this product!
boychik, I’d be down for sending you a sample to try but I’m not sure how the post office would feel about it…mysterious white powder in a little baggie. Ehrm…
You are so funny lol. Every time I go to PO the same lady keeps asking me what’s inside. I keep saying samples. After several times she asked “samples of what?”
I decided not to mention that its tea. I changed the subject to weather is awful ….
yeah, i remember the first time i sent tea to canadian steepsters and the customs form, the guy’s like “loose tea? is it like, just loose in the box, or in baggies?” and i’m like “uh little baggies” and he asked how many and i was all “6 i think?” and thinking in the back of my mind “he’s probably wondering what the heck my deal is…”
LOL, I was waiting to hear “it cuts, chops, serrates and makes julienne fries!”
Do you think this would be good at getting rid of scent that clings onto things? I’m specifically thinking of cilacone (the inner lid of the timolino has osme on it). This stuff sounds amazing!
Hm, good question! I almost tacked on a disclaimer at the end that the miraculousness referred to tea tannin stains only; my stuff was clean otherwise of other sorts of detritus. I’m not sure…the lemon juice/vinegar trick tends to work for me, so my stuff didn’t have a smell to it. I will try to remember to run a little mini test and find out, keychange!
You made me laugh, Morgana! Thanks. (: