Tips For Cleaning and Removing Coffee Stains From Carpeting and Clothing

How To Remove Coffee Stains

When your coffee spills, it is guaranteed to never happen at a good time. It’s probably fair to say that coffee stains happen at the very worst moment.

Spills happen when you are rushed, when that important meeting is starting. It also happens right before a big dinner party. Whenever you do not want your clothing or carpet stained with coffee, it happens anyway. The goal is to get rid of them quickly but if that is to happen, you need to work quickly. There are several things that you can do to make sure that you get rid of the coffee stain before it becomes permanent.

Stain Removal Steps: What To Do First

There are many methods that can help you to remove coffee stain from your clothing if it should happen away from the home. One of the best things to do when the stain hits the clothing is to follow this simple step.

• Blot the area dry with an absorbent fabric. Do not rub it.
• Blot on to the stain a dab of club soda. This will keep the stain from setting.
• Cold water can help to keep the stain from setting as well, if no club soda is available.
• Once home, launder as you normally would, but do not place the clothing in the dryer. Allow to air dry to insure the stain is fully removed.

If you have a coffee stain on your clothing, it is essential that you pay close attention to the care instructions of the clothing before you follow through with treatment. It should be safe for the clothing as well as effective at treating stains.

Clothing Stain Treatment Methods

To remove coffee stain from clothing, you can use other methods as well.

One method that seems to work well is to use a pre treatment product for stain removal. These products are readily available. The trick to insuring that they work is to follow the directions for them completely, from start to finish. The product needs to set on the clothing for a specific time. Then, launder as you usually would. Do not dry in the dryer until you know if the clothing has had the coffee stain fully remove.

Another option is to use mild pH balanced detergents to clean the area. To use this, you will want to use a product that is free from dyes and fragrance. Apply to the area and allow it to sit for five or so minutes. Rinse from the back of the piece of clothing through the front to push the stain through. Launder as you normally would.

White vinegar can also be helpful to clothing that has a coffee stain on it. If you have white vinegar available, blot onto the stained area and allow it to sit. Within a minute or so, blot with a clean, dry terry cloth to absorb the liquid back into the cloth and out of the clothing.

There are many other things that coffee can stain besides clothing. To clean them, look for the information below.

Stain Removal Tips

Have you ever had a cup of coffee spilled on your carpeting? Or, what about those awful coffee rings left on tables and countertops? To clean these, you should follow these directions closely.

Coffee Latte Stain / Iced Coffee Stains On Fabric

Here’s a new tip hot off the press. I just got back from our annual road trip over the mountains to Eastern Washington. My teenagers insisted on bringing an embroidered blue and white cotton blanket with them to snuggle with. At the start of the trip, we went to Starbucks- The girls ordered some caramel, sugar, coffee and milk concoction, which spilled sometime during the trip- And I did not notice that it had happened until the next day.

Now in case you were wondering what the big deal is here, a coffee stain by itself is awful to get rid of, and adding milk (and milk fat) and sugar makes a very bad stain to treat. I can’t bleach the cotton blanket as it is embroidered and it would be ruined. Plus the fact that I did not catch the stain right away and it baked in the car in the hot Lake Chelan sun.

Here’s what I did to remove the coffee latte stain- When I noticed the stain, right away I rinsed it in COLD water to remove as much of the coffee and milk and sugar as possible, Then I folded the blanket up and set it aside, to wait till I got back home a week later to tackle the stain.

Once I got back home I pulled out the usual stain sticks and Zout and OxyClean to see how they handled the stain. I followed the stain remover instructions and then washed the blanket in cold water, hoping for the best. Unfortunately, though the stain was improved in appearance, I’d say about 1/2 the stain remained after 2 or 3 applications of these products followed by a cold rinse.

Now it’s time to get serious- And back to basics, using the tried and true methods.

Pulling the damp blanket back out of the washer, I grabbed the white vinegar, and the plain old hydrogen peroxide from the medicine cabinet. First I poured the vinegar on the stain and let it sit for about 30 minutes then rinsed it out. Vinegar is a mild acid that helps dissolve stains and will not damage fabric. After the vinegar was rinsed out, I laid the blanket flat, and took the medicinal grade hydrogen peroxide and poured it directly on the coffee stain. I treated the blanket with the hydrogen peroxide about 4 times today (about 2 hours between each application- No rinsing is required between applications) and the stain is officially gone.

Hydrogen peroxide is a mild bleach that works really well on coffee stains and it will not remove colors. It is the main component of any stain removal product that has “Oxy” in the name (Along with detergents). I am happy to report that the stain is now completely gone, and for just pennies.

There are just a few important points to remember if a coffee latte or iced coffee stain ever happens to you:

1. Always wash/rinse the stain in cold water to avoid setting it in the fabric.
2. Do not put the article in the dryer until you are certain the stain is removed.
3. When it comes to any type of coffee stain I can confidentially say white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide works best.

Removing Coffee Stains On Carpeting

To remove coffee from your carpet, mix a solution of one teaspoon of a neutral, mild detergent that has no bleaches in it with one cup of warm water. Blot this onto the stained area with a terry cloth. Use another solution made up of one third of a cup of white vinegar with two thirds of a cup of water and blot onto the stain. Finally, blot with a dry terry cloth to remove the stain. Then, rinse with clean water and blot dry.

How To Remove Coffee Stains From Countertops

If you have a standard countertop, stains are likely to happen. If you have coffee rings on it, you can get rid of them by using a mild detergent and a bit of elbow grease. You can also use a bleach product on countertops that are color safe. To know this, test the bleach product on a hidden area to see if the color changes or bleeds. If not, then you can often use them. But, use them mildly.

If you have a countertop that is made from stone or from marble, the coffee stain should be cleaned very carefully. You do not want to risk the destruction of the protective coatings of these surfaces. If that happens, make sure to reapply the protective coating as directed.

Coffee Stains On Upholstery

Just like carpeting, always insure that you test the detergent before you use it on the upholstery in a hidden area. If it is okay, then a mild detergent that is applied to the area and blotted onto and off of the material is likely to remove the stain from the area. If not, then you can use white vinegar that is blotted onto the area as well.