Everyone knows that you shouldn’t cry over spilled milk. But what if the spilled milk is in a mug with coffee and sugar — and your carpet or couch is the target?
Although coffee can stain fabrics and textiles, staining isn’t inevitable. The key is understanding how to correctly address the coffee spill before it becomes a permanent feature in your home or office.
Below are several easy-to-follow steps and tips on removing coffee stains from carpeted flooring and upholstered furnishings. Use them to navigate coffee splashes and related “oops” moments with confidence.
Steps to Remove Coffee Stains From Carpets
After spilling coffee, take a few precautionary measures to avoid forcing the coffee deeper into your carpet fibers. First, know that you should never scrub the coffee stain. You’ll succeed in doing one thing, which is forcing the coffee outward and down. Secondly, take action as fast as you can. It’s much easier to clean a fresh coffee spill than a dried-up stain from a few days ago.
Finally, follow some proven coffee stain removal tips. Give the project at least 30 minutes. Follow these steps:
- Pour hot water onto the stain. To ensure you don’t saturate your carpet, apply the hot water liberally a few tablespoons at a time. You want to dilute the coffee but not make a mess. The water doesn’t need to be scalding hot, either. Warm water from the kitchen or bathroom faucet is fine.
- Blot the stain with a white cloth. Start blotting at the outer edges of the coffee stain, not in the middle where you could end up forcing the stain to spread away from the pressure. Use firm blotting action, but be wary of pressing down too hard. Your goal is to get to the point where the white cloth no longer shows any signs of dark color when you blot the carpet’s surface.
- Apply homemade cleaner to remaining discolored carpet fibers. Whip up a mixture containing a tablespoon of white vinegar, a tablespoon of organic dish detergent and a cup or two of hot water. Dip another cloth or dish towel into the cleaner and blot the coffee stain again. The cleaner should address lingering coffee dyes and leave the carpet smelling fresh.
- Give the carpet a cool bath. As final insurance that you’ve done all you can for your carpet coffee stain, pour a little cold water on the spot. Blot it up gently. Give the carpet time to air dry. And relax with another steaming cup of joe.
What If the Coffee Stain Involves Milk, Creamer or Sugar?
Mopping up black, unadorned coffee is one thing. What if you like to sweeten or lighten your coffee, though? Turns out that the presence of milk and sugar doesn’t make the stain more stubborn — but it could make it really sticky.
In order to bring up a milky, sweet coffee stain on your carpet, you’ll want to add another step to the process. Mix a bit of enzyme-rich laundry detergent with hot water. Apply the solution to the stain as part of the first round of hot-water blotting. The enzymes will help release any milk and sugar residue.
As a side note, the enzyme laundry detergent mixture is also a great solution if your coffee stain is from yesterday or even earlier.
Steps to Remove Coffee Stains From Upholstered Furniture
Coffee doesn’t just fall onto carpets. It also tends to make its way onto upholstered furniture like sofas, loveseats, recliners and office chairs. The good news is that those fabrics accept the same steps to removing coffee stains from carpet. You’ll just want to keep a few tips in mind when working with upholstery instead of carpets since upholstery can be more delicate and absorbent than carpet fibers:
- Switch to cool water. If you’re going to blot up coffee stains from any type of upholstered furniture, use cool rather than hot water. Hot water can affect the quality of the fabric, whereas cooler water tends to have less of an effect on it. You’ll still get the same stain-fighting power out of your homemade stain cleaner.
- Blot from the outside to the inside. You don’t want the coffee stain to spread rapidly to other areas of your upholstery, so blot in an outward to inward motion.
- Allow upholstery to air dry. It’s fine to set up a fan to help your upholstery dry naturally. However, don’t use any heating element on the spot. If the stain isn’t quite lifted, it will dry into the fabric and become nearly impossible to remove fully.
Coffee belongs in your favorite mug, not on the floor or couch. Nevertheless, if you have a spill, leverage your caffeine rush to spring into action and remove coffee stains before they start.
Need help with professional carpet or furniture cleaning? Trust Cyclone Professional Cleaners. Call us today at 972-390-8700 or contact us online to schedule a time for us to help make your home or office its best.
