Removing Coffee Stains from Carpet

The freshly brewed coffee smell on a chilly winter’s morning is one of life’s small pleasures.

Not so pleasant? Dropping that cup of coffee on your carpet and not knowing the best method for removing it. Getting coffee out of carpet includes some fairly easy steps. As stain removal experts, we can help.

Warning: You are going to use a lot of towels to clean up the mess, along with a couple of basic household items, but it will be worth it!

How to Get a Coffee Stain Out of the Carpet

Nothing can derail a morning like dropping your coffee on your beloved carpet. As carpet cleaning specialists, we have some insider knowledge on what you can do when disaster strikes and how to get coffee stains out of carpet.

This process requires a little patience to ensure that you get the right outcome.

The good news is that you should already have the products to treat coffee stains when they occur – standard household items will do a fantastic job.

Step 1: You Need to Act Quickly

Attending to the stain just after it occurs will give you the best chance of success. Just remember, you can make yourself another cup once you’ve cleaned up the mess!

Use clean cloths or paper towels to gently blot any excess liquid. Use light pressure at first and change cloths as you go. Remember, don’t rub, as rubbing may spread the stain, or worse, push it deeper into the carpet fibre.

Continue to blot, cleaning the stain until there is no further transferring of colour onto the cloth.

Step 2: Apply Water to The Stain

Using lukewarm water for this step is important, particularly if there was milk in the coffee spilt. Hot water may cause the milk to curdle – yuck! This may create an even bigger mess than what you started with.

Sponge the water and blot, before placing pressure on a dry, clean towel to absorb as much coffee liquid as possible.

You’ll need to repeat this process at least once or twice until there is no more coffee transferring onto the cloth. This can take some time, so remember to be patient. Again, make sure you are not rubbing the stain, as this can make matters worse.

Step 3: Cleaning Coffee Stains Solution

Combine a 1:2 mix of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and apply it to the carpet stain. Blot the stained area with a paper towel and continue the process. You will need to rinse with cold water and again, blot dry.

Note that the smell of vinegar will dissipate within a couple of hours. If the above solution hasn’t done the trick, we have more cleaning tips for you to try on this tough stain. A coffee stain doesn’t have to mean curtains for your carpets if you follow the steps below.

How to Remove Coffee Stains

Hopefully, that has worked a treat. Still struggling to remove coffee stains from the carpet? We have a couple of other options that you can try that should hopefully make your coffee stain history.

Step 1: The Second Cleaning Solution (Option A)

Create a mild cleaning solution by using about 1 teaspoon of dish soap (a mild dishwashing detergent) and mixing it with at least one cup of warm water. Put a sponge liberally onto the affected area and remove with a wet-dry vacuum or by placing downward pressure on a fresh towel.

Take your time with this step and do this at least twice or until the stain is gone to remove as much of the coffee as possible.

Quick tip – stand on the towel after sponging on the liquid dish soap mixture. This will increase the transfer of moisture (including the coffee) from the carpet to the towel.

Step 2: The Second Cleaning Solution (Option B)

Try applying Electro 3 Spot and Stain Remover to the area. You can purchase Electro 3 from the Electrodry online store - it’s a formula that our technicians rely upon as well, so you know it works well.

Electro 3 does a phenomenal job of getting coffee stains (and so many others!). It can even get wine out of the carpet – now that’s impressive!

Apply to the affected area and wipe in one direction. Use a clean rag or paper towel, and remember to gently blot the stain, and check that the stain is transferring from the carpet to the rag or towel.

Re-apply but wipe this time in the opposite direction to get both sides of the carpet fibre.

Two or three sprays of our commercial stain remover will generally be enough to get stains out of the carpet. Our recommendation? Don’t over-apply this carpet stain remover; like any cleaning product, you should always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Wait until the area has dried before walking on it to avoid re-contaminating the surface.

Step 3: Rinse and Dry

Sponge on some cool water and apply towel pressure to remove as much moisture as possible for five minutes. You’ll need to air dry the carpet, but we recommend placing a fan near the damp area and letting it blow for a few hours to speed up the process.

And you’re done. Spilling coffee doesn’t have to ruin your day or your carpets!

You shouldn’t need to adapt your process for different types of carpet; our stain removal guide will work on polyester, nylons and wool blend carpets. Regardless, take your time, and be gentle while blotting so that you don’t cause any further damage.

How to Get Dried Coffee Stains Out of the Carpet?

While we’ve given you tips above to remove fresh coffee stains, you may be wondering how to remove old coffee stains. This can be a tough task, even for a professional, but here are some steps you can try.

The first thing you need to do is dilute the coffee stain. Dried coffee is more difficult to remove than fresh coffee, unfortunately. Dampen the stain by adding a cup of water just a little bit at a time, using a towel or clean white cloths to blot as you go.

Use one of the above white vinegar or dishwashing detergent methods to continue to treat the stain, being sure to carefully follow each step closely.

Getting coffee out can certainly be difficult to treat, however, by following the above method to a tee, treating a dried coffee stain shouldn’t be any harder than a fresh coffee stain.

What Makes Coffee Stains Permanent?

Coffee stains are tough to treat because they contain tannins (similar to what you find in tea and red wine), which can leave a dark stain behind. The reason you need to act so quickly when a stain like this happens is that tannins can quickly soak into carpet fibres, potentially causing permanent damage.

The type of coffee you drink matters, too. Coffee containing cream or milk, for example, is going to need much more patience and care while cleaning, as dairy can curdle in carpet fibres if you haven’t effectively removed the stain from your carpet.

If you’ve had a milky coffee, it’s particularly important not to rub the stain into carpet fibres as you’re cleaning it. Regardless of what your coffee maker is creating when you rise in the morning, the important thing is to act fast for your best chance of removing coffee stains from carpet effectively.

Soiled your clothing as well after dropping your coffee? For most materials, simple laundry detergents should be able to remove coffee stains from your clothes as well. However, we do recommend that you check the tag on your clothing before washing for any advice on suitable cleaning techniques.

What if the stain hasn’t been removed?

Some stains, particularly if they’ve occurred on white or light coloured carpet, can be stubborn and can leave you feeling frustrated.

If the stain still hasn’t budged, you may need to give an Electrodry Carpet Dry Cleaning technician a call to treat the stain on your carpet.

You may just think the stain is large enough that it is best tackled by a professional or want the peace of mind that the job has been done right.

For almost four decades, Electrodry has been Australia’s best carpet cleaners, offering a unique dry-cleaning approach that revitalises your carpets using minimal moisture, which equals a more convenient drying time.

You can visit Electrodry Carpet Dry Cleaning to find out more about what we do. Electrodry offers customised services, depending on what your carpet needs. This includes our standard clean, a heavy traffic clean for those busier areas of your home or our restorative clean, designed for very heavily soiled and neglected carpets.

Our technicians are trained in removing stains and can use their expertise and cleaning product arsenal to achieve the best possible results. They achieve great outcomes on many types of carpet stains, meaning you’ll get to enjoy your morning cup in peace even after you’ve had a coffee spill.