In this blog entry, the professional NJ carpet cleaning team here at Carpetline will detail some expert tips for removing coffee stains from your carpets.
Removing Coffee Stains from Carpets
- Blotting the Coffee Stain – If the coffee stain is wet, blot the general area with clean dry white clothes or towels. Do not scrub the area since this can spread the stain around. Work from the edges of the stain inward. Keep blotting until no more coffee transfers onto the towels. If the stain is dry and already set, wet the stain with a small amount of warm water, and then blot with dry white towels. If the stain still remains, over on to the next steps:
- Create a Stain Solution – Mix a tablespoon of liquid dish soap, a tablespoon of white vinegar, and two cups of warm water – then stir the entire mixture. This solution can work as well as commercial products for coffee stains. Before applying this or any kind of carpet cleaning solution, apply a small amount of it onto a tiny and hard to see area of the carpet to make sure it doesn’t cause any negative effects to be safe.
- Stain Treatment– Dip a clean cloth or towel into the cleaning solution, and blot the stain from the edges of the stain towards the center. Do not saturate the stain with too much cleaning solution, as you don’t want moisture leaking into the padding under the carpet pile. Once the stain has solution worked into it, allow it to sit for a minute or two to help break down the stain’s components. Then alternate between blotting with lightly saturated-with-solution towels and dry and fresh towels, blotting until the stain gets removed from the carpet fibers. If the coffee had sugar or cream you will likely have to move to the next step:
- Cream / Sugar Removal– These materials make stain removal a little harder, but you can probably remove them with the following solution: a mix of a single cap of enzyme-based laundry detergent stirred with a cup of warm water. Test this solution on an inconspicuous area of the carpet first, and blot it according to the technique above that alternates between solution-saturated cloths and clean dry cloths.
- Rinsing and Drying– Rinse the carpet off with cool water to clear up any residue, and blot as much of the water as you can with dry towels and then allow the caret to dry. If you have any fans, allow it to blow over the carpet to speed up drying, and ideally open windows inthe room to create a cross-breeze. Carpets will take longer to dry in humid weather, so you want a dry breeze if possible.