Removing a Coffee Stain on Carpet

All true coffee addicts are familiar with the brown, ring-shaped coffee stains sometimes left behind by their daily brew. They’ll find them on newspapers and magazines, coffee tables, desks, and papers. The most clumsy coffee drinkers (and the simply unlucky) sometimes spill their coffee onto the carpet as well. When treating a coffee stain on carpet, it’s important to act quickly or the stain will sink into the carpet fibers and dry, setting and becoming much harder to treat. This is especially important if the coffee contained milk or cream, both of which can become smelly and bacteria-ridden if left to fester. So if you want to keep your floor spot- and smell-free, you need to learn how to remove a coffee stain on carpet.

 How to Remove a Coffee Stain on Carpet

1. As with all carpet stains, the most important thing to do first is quickly blot up the spill. Using a paper towel or cloth, dab the spot and soak up as much of the liquid as possible. Avoid rubbing, which can push the coffee further into the carpet fibers.
2. Next, assess the carpet. If it is an antique or very valuable carpet (or rug), you might want to consider calling a professional carpet cleaner to ensure that the carpet won’t be damaged during the cleaning process. And whether your carpet is fragile/sensitive or not, always remember to do a test spot when using cleaning solution. Apply the solution to an inconspicuous spot before you move on to more visible areas.
3. Mix about 2/3 cup warm water with either 1/3 cup white vinegar or 1 teaspoon liquid dishwashing detergent. If the coffee contained any milk or cream, use an enzyme laundry detergent as well. Apply this mixture to the stain with a sponge or spray bottle, dampening but not soaking the spot. Then, using another clean paper towel or cloth, blot up more of the coffee. Repeat this process until the stain is removed. If you’re able, you could switch between vinegar and detergent solutions.
4. If the spot is still there after several repetitions, consider contacting a professional carpet cleaning company.
5. Once the spot is removed, dampen it with some clean water and blot up. If the spot is still very wet, place a clean paper towel or cloth on top and weigh it down with a heavy object (like a large book) to soak up as much water as possible.

Older stains are far more difficult to get up than brand new stains, which is why it’s so important that you act quickly and remove the coffee soon after it has spilled. Take care to get up every bit of the stain as well, especially if it contained milk, which can become very smelly once it’s soured. And remember, if you’re struggling to remove that coffee stain on carpet or you’re afraid that you’ll accidentally damage your precious carpet or rug, just call a cleaning company like Green Carpet Cleaning & Allergy Kenya (assuming you live in Nairobi County,Kiambu, Kajiado and Machakos Counties, that is). We’d be happy to help!

Dangers of 'Stain Removal' and 'Carpet Cleaning' Products

And why it can ruin your carpets or upholstery!

You have dropped something on your carpet (or upholstery), and your instinct tells you to grab something to try and remove it as quickly as possible. So your first thought is probably to wipe it up, and then maybe to use a cleaning product that may be wholey innapropriate - even when it may say that it is a carpet cleaning or stain removal product!

Unbeknown to you that magic cleaner that you bought that's hopefully going to save your carpet - could contain something very harsh that could actually ruin it - with NO possibility of returning it back to how it should. WHAT! I hear you say! There are 2 major issues with these supermarket available products - we see these nearly every day, and the worse thing is you are probably completely unaware of their destructive nature. I mean they are brands on TV - so  they must be ok right? I'm afraid not, and they are:

1). Colour loss
Due to the harsh nature of the cleaning product, it could be quite quick in fading the colour. We all know that when you remove colour from something - it won't look the same again, unless you return the colour. Well this is essentially impossible and the expensive carpet or upholstery item is now affected by PERMANENT colour loss and basically ruined. Do not make the common mistake of presuming that you have merely made a 'clean patch', it could well indeed be the colour that's vanished!

2). Dirt attracting residues
Most of these cleaners are detergent based, and usually quite foamy. Because you are not removing this from the carpet or upholstery item (you can't unless you rinse it out with a machine), then it will simply make the area go darker and darker over time as the dust sticks to it. Think about it for a minute, imagine washing your hair - but not rinsing it out afterwards. Yes its exactly the same i.e. Soapy and sticky!

Ruined Carpet or Upholstery?
After you have attempted to remove the stain (and been unsuccessful), you may now be considering calling a professional in the hope that they can now 'sort it out'. But now we have a major problem - by applying said products can unfortunately cause what we professionals call 'setting the stain'. This means that the stain structure has been altered by the wrong chemical ingredient applied to it. Yes, the cleaning product used may well be a household name - but they certainly are not 'professional' products. So now the professional you called has a very very difficult stain to try and remove - and the truth is it may not be able to be removed - not because he is incompetent but because it has been 'set' and changed chemically.

The moral of the story is - if the value of a carpet or upholstered item is of great importance to you - it would certainly be more cost effective to call out a professional cleaning company in the first place - who may have complete success in removing it, and without ruining the carpet or upholstery - saving you money in replacement costs.

Can a small bottle of 'carpet cleaning' or 'stain remover' product costing a few pounds - potentially cost you thousands of pounds? Yes it can, so be warned.