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Sweeping, mopping and vacuuming floors can feel like an endless battle, particularly when dust seems to reappear within minutes. Wooden flooring presents its own challenges, with scratches and a loss of lustre developing over time.

While numerous conventional wooden floor cleaning products are available, Kristina Rak, a member of the Cleaning Tips, Tricks and Hacks Facebook group, discovered an ingenious solution using a common kitchen waste item to revitalise her hardwood floors. She revealed that used tea bags are "amazing" for cleaning wooden floors, with the entire process taking just 10 minutes. Black tea has been employed for generations to clean and polish hardwood floors, as it cuts through dirt and dust while adding an attractive sheen.

Kristina explained: "I just cleaned my wood floors with black tea and it worked amazingly! It disinfects, removes dust and shines up the wood fantastically. I didn't see any dust for at least a month.

"It definitely made them shiny and even added a nice colour to them, and it smells so nice!"

"I used eight tea bags in one gallon of boiling water. Seep for 10 to 15 minutes, then let it get to room temp. Then I mopped per usual with my mop."

Employing a brewed beverage to clean your floors may sound peculiar, but it genuinely delivers results. Black tea contains polyphenolic compounds that inhibit bacterial growth, helping to disinfect your floors.

However, its true cleaning prowess lies in its tannins, which not only cleanse your floor but also help to stain it. Tannins, the compound responsible for staining your tea cups, possess mild acidity that helps break down dirt and grime during mopping.

More significantly, they produce a subtle brown tint that can enhance the colour and depth of your natural hardwood flooring. The intensity depends on the number of tea bags employed.

Using eight bags should effectively enrich the tone of medium-brown floors.

For paler floorboards, try five or six bags; darker floors may require 10 to 12.

Crucially, only apply this cleaning method to genuine hardwood, not laminate. Tea could damage laminate surfaces, so it's advisable to avoid it.