Carpet floors are amazing, and they give your home that cozy warm feel that most people crave.
However, cleaning your carpet can be a bit of a nightmare, especially if any tough stains get spilled over it.
And as much as you might need that cup of coffee in the morning, it’s quite common for your sleepiness to cause a misstep, and for it to spill all over the carpet, causing one of those said nasty stains.
But there’s no need to despair. Although coffee stains should be avoided at all costs, it is not necessarily the end of the road for your carpet.
In fact, there are several different ways of dealing with the issue at hand. Let’s get right into it!
Precautions and Warnings: Before You Get Started
Okay, so before we get started and show you the fastest and easiest ways of getting rid of that coffee stain, it’s important that you’re aware of the big Don'ts in carpet cleaning.
After all, you don’t want to try and fix the problem and then accidentally make it worse!
Here are some of the precautions and warning you should follow in order to keep your carpet safe and undamaged:
- Don’t use harsh cleaning products or chemicals
When cleaning stains off a carpet, it’s best to avoid any harsh cleaning products that might be unsuitable. These could seriously damage the fibers of the carpet, as well as cause any discoloration that just results in a worse stain. Always check that the products you are using are safe for use on a carpet, or test a small and hidden patch beforehand to make sure. - Don’t over-do the soap
Applying soap to the carpet is fine, especially when you need to get rid of a tough stain. However, be careful of how much soap you are applying. Too much soap means you might not be able to rinse all of it out, leaving some of it trapped in the carpet fibers. And this will attract even more dirt, so it’ll have been like going backward rather than forward. - Don’t soak the carpet wet
Applying a bit of water is completely fine, and often it is necessary to use a wet or damp cloth when scrubbing off a tough stain. However, it is very important that you don’t use too much water and then soak the carpet. This water might then go to the bottom of the carpet and get trapped underneath, where it won’t dry. This can then lead to mold problems, which is something you want to avoid at all costs. - Don’t place any furniture back on to the carpet until it’s completely dry and clean
Placing the furniture back onto the spot you’ve cleaned, before it has had the chance to fully dry out, will just cause it to stain again or to not dry properly. Instead, wait until it is completely dry.
6 Super Fast Ways of Getting Coffee Stains Off the Carpet
Now that you know what to avoid, let’s get right into six super fast and easy ways of getting a coffee stain off your carpet:
1. Carpet Shampooer
Carpet shampooers can be a complete lifesaver when it comes to tough stains. Not to mention that they’re great for cleaning the carpet as a whole.
Make sure you’re using a shampooer that is suitable for your carpet, and go over the stain a couple of times. It should hopefully remove most of the dirt!
A carpet shampoo is also great for brightening the carpet, so even if the stain doesn’t fully come out, it will look as though it has.
2. Dealing with Old Stains
Dealing with older coffee stains might seem like it will be a harder task, but it’s actually not that different from more recent stains.
However, it does usually take a bit more effort, unless you moisten it up again so that the dirt is looser and easier to remove.
To do this, you can apply hot water onto the stain, with the help of a cloth or sponge. The heat will also help loosen the dirt, even more, meaning it will be easier to clean the stain!
3. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is absolutely great when it comes to cleaning, as it has naturally absorbent properties that can lift and remove the dirt with ease, even on tougher stains.
You don’t need to use a lot of it, a tablespoon or so mixed with warm water should do the trick. You can then apply it onto the stain with the help of a cloth, and watch it do its magic.
However, hydrogen peroxide also has bleaching properties. So it’s perfectly fine on light-colored carpets, but it might discolor and ruin darker carpets, so avoid using it on them!
4. Lemon Juice and White Vinegar
Mixing lemon juice and white vinegar is a trick from the old book, a good classic method for removing tough stains, not only from carpets but from many other types of fabrics too.
Vinegar is basically the holy grail of cleaning and house remedies, no matter what you’re doing, and lemon juice is great for lifting the dirt off the tougher stains.
You can apply a few drops of each onto the stain, and then use a cloth with warm water to do the rest. Hopefully, the stain will then be removed, or at the very least, it will have become easier to clean off.
5. Using a Special Cleaner
If the coffee that you spilled contained cream or milk, the stain is going to be a lot harder to remove. This is because dairy products contain proteins, and when they get trapped in the fabrics of the carpet they can quickly decompose and cause a horrible smell.
To remove these kinds of stains, you’re going to need a more specialized cleaning product, such as an enzymatic commercial cleaner. This will break up the proteins and allow you to then clean the stain up.
6. Using Dish Detergent
This is one of the simplest and most popular methods for getting rid of coffee stains from your carpet. It’s a pretty straightforward method.
You simply squeeze a few drops of detergent into a bowl of water, and that is what you apply onto the stain. You’ll need to do a bit of scrubbing, preferably with a sponge or thick cloth.
The aim is to moisten up the stain enough that the stain loosens, and to rub in the detergent so that it breaks up the stain components, allowing them to come away from the carpet.
In Conclusion
Coffee stains can happen very often, especially during those sleepy moments after waking up in which you haven’t finished the full drink.
Spilling coffee on a carpet will likely cause a nasty stain, and you will have to take the time to clean it in a focused way in order for it to be removed.
There are different methods that you can use, but just remember not to use any harsh products or chemicals, and to not leave the carpet soaking in water, or else it might lead to other issues!
