If you’re an avid coffee drinker, there’s a good chance that you’ve accidentally spilled a bit of brew. Whether you’re looking to get a coffee stain out of clothing, carpet, teeth, mugs, or your favorite sweater, we break down how you can avoid a groggy mistake from ruining your Sunday!
How To Get Coffee Stains Out Of Clothes
Lucky for you, coffee stains are actually easier to get out than wine and grease stains! But, if you’re not careful, coffee can permanently stain your favorite white shirt, sweater, or pants. It’s important to address the stain quickly and put it in the wash as soon as you can!
Let’s walk through how to properly treat a coffee stain.
First, read the label! Not every material can be treated the same, so it is very important that you know how your fabric should be washed. If you can find the label or it doesn’t have care directions (most older clothing won’t) give it a quick Google!
Second, flush with cold water. Never use warm water on a stain! Warm water can set the stain and no amount of treatment will get it out. Flip the article of clothing inside out and run cold water over the stained area. Doing this will ensure that the coffee stain does not penetrate the fabric any further and will open up the fibers!
Third, treat the stain. This all depends on what you have around the house. If you have a stain remover, we recommend that you use that (as long as it adheres to the directions on your coffee stained clothing). No stain remover? No worries! Rub liquid laundry detergent or dish soap on the stain under running water!
If you have a spare toothbrush laying around, the bristles can help ensure all of the fibers are coated. Let this sit for 5-10 minutes.
Fourth, run the wash. If you have stain remover, go ahead and throw it in the washer. If not, we recommend you pick up some laundry detergent with some stain fighting powers! This step is just running the wash like any other load of laundry, but we recommend you wash only the stained article of clothing!
How To Remove Coffee Stains From Carpet
Spilling a full cup of coffee on a beautiful white carpet is the worst! Just when you were about to crack open a good book or when you’re rushing out the door, right? We’ve got a few quick, easy, cheap, and effective steps get coffee stains out of carpet!
Blot As Much Coffee As You Can, As Quickly As You Can
With a clean, dry towel, gently blot up as much liquid as you can. The key to getting the coffee stain out of your carpet is to minimize the coffee you have to clean! Make sure you don’t rub the stain in, that’ll only make the problem worse. After you’re not picking up much liquid, apply cold water with the same blotting motion to open up the carpet fibers. Don’t make a puddle, but do make sure that the coffee stain does not dry out!
Apply Stain Remover
If you have stain remover, go ahead and use that! We always recommend having some around if you frequently drink coffee, eat near your carpet, or have pets (or kids).
If you don’t have stain remover, you can whip up some homemade stain remover to tackle your coffee stain on a budget! Mix together two cups of cold water, one tablespoon of white vinegar (make sure it’s white!), and one tablespoon of dish soap.
Using the same blotting motion as before, start by blotting the edges of the coffee stain and work your way inward. Dip your cloth back into the bowl of cleaning solution (or spray a bit more) as needed!
Rinse And Repeat
Rinse the carpet with a bit of cold water. Using a dry towel, soak up the water and be sure not to press the liquid into the carpet! After doing this, allow the carpet to air dry completely and check for any sign of the coffee stain. All gone? Awesome! Still see a bit of residue? Go back to the top and follow along! If you didn’t use stain remover, go ahead and buy some.
How To Prevent Coffee Stains On Teeth
We’ll go into how to remove coffee stains from teeth later, but let’s talk about prevention first! It’s much easier to follow a couple of useful guidelines now than get out the stains a year from now!
- Brush regularly – We know, that sounds like pretty lame advice. However, this is going to be the best way that you can prevent coffee stains (among other stains) and maintain great oral hygiene!
- Use a straw – This tip is the same for red wine (of which we’re also connoisseurs). Using a straw minimizes the amount of time that coffee is actually in contact with your teeth.
- Add a splash of milk – Black coffee will stain your teeth much more quickly than coffee with milk or creamer. Don’t believe us? Just look at the color difference between the two!
- Alternate coffee and water – Sipping water in between drinking your coffee will prevent the black coffee from sitting on your teeth for too long!
- Chew some gum – sugar-free gum is the best for this, but most gum will do!
How To Remove Coffee Stains From Teeth
Maybe you haven’t been taking preventative steps to keep your pearly whites, well, white? That’s okay, it’s not too late to start and we have some useful tips for removing coffee stains from teeth!
Grab Some Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda
You’ve likely heard of using hydrogen peroxide on homemade hair bleach kits or treating a cut, but, when combined with baking soda, it can also work to whiten your teeth! Read up on all the science about natural teeth whitening here, we’re going to summarize the steps below.
Mix together enough hydrogen peroxide and baking soda together to form a runny paste. Make sure to wash your mouth out with some water first! Using a spare tooth brush (or just set aside a new one for this), brush your teeth thoroughly with the peroxide mixture. After you’re finished, go ahead and brush your teeth with normal toothpaste!
You need to repeat this process once a day for at least two weeks before you start seeing meaningful results!
Use Tooth Whitening Strips or a Tooth Whitening Kit
These kits are known to work more quickly than hydrogen peroxide, but make sure to use them as directed to avoid serious enamel damage! We’ve tried a couple of these kits from time-to-time, and they’re a cheap alternative compared to profession tooth whitening services.
Brush With Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal is the new trend, it’s known to absorb alcohol from the stomach and make unwanted smells from the house disappear! It was only a matter of time until someone made a toothpaste out of it. The reviews on this solution are mixed to say the least, but it doesn’t hurt to give it a try! Again, make sure to use as directed!
How To Remove Coffee Stains From Your Mug
If you’re like me, your favorite coffee mug, Chemex, or metal travel mug can build up coffee residue over time. Even with a great dishwasher, coffee stains are inevitable! With a bit of elbow grease and the right ingredients, you’ll get your mug looking new in no time!
Removing Coffee Stain From Ceramic Mug
Take a bit of baking soda and sprinkle it into your mug (or Chemex). Mix this baking soda in the mug with a couple tablespoons of warm water to form a runny paste and start scrubbing!
This shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds or so to get the mug thoroughly coated. Let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing it out. We recommend that you wash the mug as you normally would afterwards to remove any remaining baking soda or coffee residue.
How to Clean Coffee Stains From a Stainless Steel Travel Mug
If you have a stainless steel or a vacuum-sealed travel mug, you’ll follow a few more steps to get any stains or weird smells out of your mug! Make sure to do this any time you leave coffee, milk, or sugar sealed in there!
Mix a bit of baking soda and vinegar in the coffee mug and allow the chemistry to do its magic! Seal the travel mug and shake vigorously to make sure the entire inside is coated. Let sit for a couple of minutes before rinsing and wash as you normally would!
Before You Go!
Hopefully you found this article helpful (I know I did)? Whether you did or you didn’t, we appreciate you supporting our site! Our efforts here are fueled by you and a healthy dose of coffee. Feel free to check out our other articles, guides, lists, and more!
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