A great cup of coffee is surely refreshing to drink – but it can get equally troublesome if it ever spills on that carpet on the floor. How to remove coffee stains from carpet?
While a fresh coffee spill still seems easy to remove, a dried stain on the carpet may call for some extra work and time. And if you are fond of cherishing coffee with some element of cream, things can get even more difficult to deal with.
However, if you follow a set of few right steps, it isn’t actually impossible to get rid of those eye-soaring coffee stains resting on your carpet. Here’s how you can remove coffee stains from carpet using a few basic household supplies.
If the stain is still fresh, it’s best to act immediately and blot the same with some paper towels or cloth. The key here is to soak the coffee liquid into the towel as much as possible before attacking the stain. Every time you blot the liquid, press a new clean section of the towel or cloth onto the coffee splash. Using a fan can also help you in drying the carpet fully.
If you are trying to get rid of old and dried coffee stains, you can skip this step and begin with the next.
Sprinkling or pouring some warm water on the stain allows you to loosen the dried coffee. Next, grab a clean white paper towel or cloth to blot up the liquid, repeating the step depending on the amount of coffee on the carpet.
Make sure to work from the outside of the stain to the center so that the mark doesn’t spread even more. Avoid scrubbing the carpet and go for a pressing motion or blotting to keep the carpet fibers from damage.
Use a homemade or a store-bought carpet stain remover on the stain while making sure to follow all the mentioned instructions. Avoid applying excess stain remover to eliminate the risk of its residue attracting more dust or dirt later.
You can also prepare a cleaner at home by combining dish-washing liquid, white vinegar, and warm water. Go for the same process as with a store-bought stain remover. Once the carpet is dry, you can fluff its fibers with a vacuum.
If you have got ingredients like milk or cream in your coffee, the need of the hour is to put a little extra effort to remove the stain. The proteins in milk actually make the stain quite hard to clean because of the stickiness element they come with.
You need to use an enzyme laundry detergent to break up the proteins constituting the dry stain. Make a solution of warm water and detergent, further dipping a cloth into the same and dabbing it onto the stain.
Some strong coffee stains may call for repeating the cleaning process multiple times. Once you remove all traces of the stain, use some cold water to rinse the carpet and blot up as much liquid as possible. This will get rid of cleaning products and detergent used during the process.
After everything’s done, keep a check on the affected carpet area for some time to spot any possible reappearance of the stain. This happens when the stain soaked in deeper than it initially seemed to, or that the stain removal process didn’t blot out enough liquid off the carpet.
The liquid eventually travels to the surface, forming a ring around the affected area. Lay a paper towel on the wet area, forcing up as much liquid as you can into the towel. Allow things to air dry, while avoiding to rub the surface.
It’s surely a relief to know that some simple home solutions can actually work wonders to clean those coffee stains, even if dealing with a white carpet. There’s always hope to revive those delicate fibers on the floor even if the coffee stains are old and dry.
However, some times getting it done all by yourself doesn’t seem to be possible, or the stains are too stubborn.
If that’s the case, you can always seek the help of an expert carpet cleaning service. The professional carpet cleaners will get rid of those muddy coffee splashes over your carpet and prevent the stains from becoming a part of that delicate fabric forever.