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Remember too, many of these tips work for other types of household stains.
You’re enjoying a delicious cup of coffee and it ends up on your clothes or worse, on the carpet. We’ve all done it and it doesn’t take long before the shock of spilling your coffee shifts to the annoyance of having to remove a coffee stain.
Spilling coffee on the carpet is up there with a red wine stain, especially on a lighter coloured carpet. A coffee spill is stressful, unsightly, and is usually something you want gone straightaway.
Your first thought is that it’ll be there forever. But it doesn’t have to be the case.
Read on for our tips on how to get coffee stains out of your carpet. These tips can also be used for upholstery and furniture. Avoid getting the area you’re cleaning too wet, but keep it damp until you’re sure you’ve removed the stain.
Number one tip
Our number one tip is to act quickly. Don’t let the stain dry, get to work immediately. You can sit down with a fresh cup of coffee as soon as you’ve cleaned the mess up.
There are a number of common household items you can use to help remove coffee stains from the carpet and furniture.
6 tips to remove coffee stains from carpet
Cold water
Start simple and start with cold water. Have two towels handy, one damp and one dry. Sponge the stained area with the damp towel before blotting it dry with the second towel. Continue this process and if you’ve acted quickly, it should remove the stain.
Soap
Use a household soap or detergent. Rub a small amount into the stain and leave it to sit for about an hour, making sure it doesn’t dry. Rinse it with water and hopefully it’s done the trick. Again, keep a towel handy to blot the area dry.
Vinegar
Mix white vinegar and water together, use a towel dipped in this solution to scrub the stain until it disappears. You may want to freshen up the carpet later with your choice of cleaner or carpet cleaner, as the vinegar smell may linger.
Toothpaste
Firstly, make sure it’s white toothpaste. Did you know because it acts like an exfoliator, you can rub the stain with a little bit of toothpaste and break down the stain? Rinse and repeat this process if necessary.
Baking soda
Use baking soda and water to form a paste. Scrub it onto the stain and continue rubbing until the stain is gone. Then rinse the area with cold water and dab dry.
Beer
This might sound like a strange solution, but pouring a small amount of beer onto a coffee stain on the carpet can work. Gently rub the beer into the stain, rinse and repeat as needed. You may want to freshen up the carpet with your choice of carpet cleaner, to get rid of any smell of beer.
How to get coffee stains out of clothes
It’s always the way, when you’re wearing white, coffee stains come looking for you. And it’s usually when you don’t have a spare outfit to change into. Whether the spill has happened at home, on the way to the office, out running errands or in the office, we have a solution for your situation.
Tips to remove coffee stains from clothing
Common household items to help remove coffee stains
There are a number of ways to remove the coffee stain using general household items most of us have handy. They might even be in your office kitchen or cleaning cupboard, if you’ve split coffee on your outfit at work.
Act quickly
Our top tip, like a spill on the carpet, is to act quickly.
Cold water
For a fresh coffee stain, try running it under cold water. Run the water through the front of the stain and also from the back. Once you’re sure the stain is gone, you can wash as normal.
Washing detergent
Rub a little liquid washing detergent onto the stain and rub it. If you’re in the office and don’t have laundry detergent, try a little bit of dishwashing detergent. It can do the trick too. Let this sit on the stain for a few minutes; it should remove your stain, but if not keep reading. The important thing is not to let it dry. And don’t machine dry it, whether that’s a clothes dryer or bathroom hand dryer, until you’re sure the stain is gone.
Soap
Use whatever soap you have handy, whether it’s a bar of soap or liquid soap. Rub it into the stain and leave it to sit for about an hour, making sure it doesn’t dry. Rinse it with water and hopefully it’s done the trick.
Vinegar
Mix white vinegar and water together, use a towel dipped in this solution to scrub the stain until it disappears. It’s worth remembering the clothing will smell like vinegar until you can wash it.
Toothpaste
Firstly, make sure it’s white toothpaste. Because it acts like an exfoliator, you can rub the stain with a little bit of toothpaste and break down the stain. Rinse and repeat if necessary.
Baking soda
Use baking soda and water to form a paste. Scrub it onto the stain, continue rubbing until the stain is gone. Then rinse with cold water.
Egg yolk
An unusual choice for a stain remover, but a lot of people promise it works. Start by whisking up an egg yolk. Rub it into the stain with a cloth for a minute or two. Rinse and the stain should have disappeared. Again, it’s worth remembering the clothing will smell a bit eggy until you can wash it.
Baby powder
Sprinkle a little bit of baby powder onto the item of clothing. Leave it for a few minutes and then rinse with cold water.
Shaving cream
Because shaving cream has many of the same ingredients as soap you can rub the stain with shaving cream, rinse and repeat as necessary.
Now if you’re still battling a coffee stain, you really do have a persistent one on your hands.
Paste
It’s now time to consider a paste – mix equal amounts of laundry detergent, vinegar and water. Use it to cover the stain and use an old toothbrush to gently scrub the spot.
Stain removal spray
Next option is to spray the item of clothing with a stain removal spray or soak it in stain removal powder and water and inject a bit of elbow grease. Gently scrub the stain with a good laundry soap.
Stain pen
If you’re prone to coffee spills, then it might be worth having a stain removal pen in your desk, car or handbag. They can work magic, quickly removing your stain, until you can get home and pop it in the wash. Available in the laundry aisle of supermarkets, they’re a handy way to remove stains on the go.
Wash as soon as possible
If you’ve tried any of these tips at the office or away from home, make sure you pop your outfit in the washing machine as soon as you get home.
Once you’re sure the stain is gone, wash and air dry again. Don’t machine dry it until you’re positive the stain has disappeared.
Bleach
It’s a last resort and can only be used for white clothing. But using bleach to return a white top or shirt to its original whiteness can be worth trying. Just remember to be careful when using – you don’t want any other items of clothing to undergo the bleaching treatment too.
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