Coffee Stain Removal

Ahh Coffee, what a wonderful thing; it gives us the energy and courage to start a new day! It fills up all of your senses with warmth and comfort. Until it hits the carpet.

Getting coffee out of your carpet ranges from extremely easy to extremely complex. I will start with the basic cleaning procedures and then move up into more advanced stain removal for problem areas.

First, there are several variables to consider with coffee. Was cream added?, sugar? Was it a flavored coffee? decaffeinated? Generally, the hotter the coffee was when it was spilled, the more likely it is to cause a problem and the more processed or "improved" the coffee is, the harder it will be to remove. For example, a cold cup of black store brand coffee will be much easier to remove than a scalding hot specialty coffee with steamed milk, hazelnut syrup and whipped cream on top. You get the idea. 

Basic Coffee Removal

1. Remain Calm - we will work through this together, call us at 317-867-5550 if you need "real time" assistance. 
2. Blot out as much of the coffee as possible with dry towels or paper towels until there is barely anything being transferred. You do not want it completely dry, just mostly dry. Coffee contains natural dyes that have been used for centuries to stain fabrics (and teeth). You will want to remove the coffee before the dye has time to "set"; hot coffee sets more quickly than cold.
3. Apply a neutral cleaning agent like our Professional Strength Spot Remover. If you don't have that handy, you can use a small amount of liquid detergent (laundry soap) in a quart of water. You only want to dampen the fibers.
4. Gently agitate the fibers back and forth with a smooth solid object, like a spoon. Don't scrub the carpet with a towel and don't use a nylon brush.
5. Blot with dry white towels or white paper towels until there is little to no transfer of coffee color onto the towels.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 until there is absolutely no more color tranfer onto a towel. You should be able to remove 75-100% of the spot this way. If you can't we'll move on to the next steps to finish the job. 

Removing the Coffee Stain

So now that you have completely removed the spot, its time to work on what is now a stain. For clarification, a spot is anything that has been applied to the carpet that you can clean out, A stain is a chemical change in the carpet fiber that you must bleach out.

The key to bleaching a stain without damaging the carpet is patience. If you pour Chlorox on your carpet you'll remove the stain, but you'll probably remove color from your carpets as well. So you will want to choose a bleaching agent that will work slowly, allowing you to control the reaction that is taking place.

Select a Bleaching Agent

The standard brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide is readily available almost everywhere as a 3% solution, and is a good choice for removing coffee stains. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into water and oxygen, so there is no residual bleaching effect once it is dry and you don' t need to neutralize or rinse it out. You should start the process with a new bottle, as the hydrogen peroxide will only be good for a couple of weeks after the bottle is opened. It is possible to have some color loss from your carpet using hydrogen peroxide, but we have recommended to hundreds of customers and have never had an adverse effect reported.

If you're a very cautious person and very, very patient, you may choose to use white vinegar or pure lemon juice. They will work more slowly, and aren't quite as scary to put on your carpet as hydrogen peroxide may be. If you're going to use lemon juice, make sure it has no additives, artificial colors, etc. Carpets like freshly squeezed juices best.

Steps to Remove the Stain

1. Apply your preferred bleaching agent (hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, or pure lemon juice). You should apply just enough to wet the area; the spot should be dry when you check it the following day.
2. Inspect the area daily. If the stain remains and there is no color loss from the carpet, repeat step one. This may take several days or weeks. If your carpet begins to lose color, stop the process and call a professional.
3. Once the stain is gone, flush the area with a mixture of 1/4 cup baking soda in a quart of water to nuetralize the acids in the carpeting. This step is not needed if you used hydrogen peroxide.

Professional Help

You may want to call a professional carpet cleaner to help with your stain removal if you need it done more quickly, or if you are nervous about doing it yourself.

Or, if you remove the stain yourself and you suddenly have a really clean spot on the carpeting, it may be time to get the whole room cleaned.

If you have any questions or problems, just give us a call, we would really appreciate the opportunity to help you out!