Getting Rid Of Pesky Coffee Stains

Those who love coffee have surely spilled a cup or many on their clothes, and then spent time fretting over ways of getting it off. Imagine sitting and sipping your favorite single-origin Ethiopia coffee, a slight miss in your hand eye coordination and coffee has spilled all over your garment. 

The good news is that fresh coffee stains are very easy to remove because the coffee particles have not set into the material. But we end up taking care of a coffee stain at the end of the day because we are always on the move, which makes it worse. If you do not have access to cold running water at the time, try using plain or fizzy water and paper towels to dilute the stain.

Remember that removing coffee stains is a trial and error and no guaranteed fix, but the following steps can help.

If you drop coffee on your clothes, start by blotting the stain with a paper towel and then immediately run cold water through the stain, as this will dilute it. Avoid scrubbing it at this point as it may harm the material. Running water through a fresh stain of coffee will wash the coffee out within minutes. If this does not work, you can move to the next method, which is also used for dried coffee stains.

Here, you'll need water, laundry detergent, and for tough stains - white vinegar. First apply laundry detergent (use liquid) to the wet clothes while gently rubbing the stain with your fingers. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes, then rinse. 

If the coffee stain is still there, it means it’s a stubborn one. You now have to mix equal parts of white vinegar and powdered laundry detergent and make a paste. Gently rub the mixture into the stain with a soft bristled toothbrush and let it sit for 5 more minutes before thoroughly rinsing it with warm water. By this time the stain is definitely going to give up. If not, this is the best that you can do by yourself at home, just send it to a professional dry cleaner as a last resort. 

Do remember that, in the end, it is more important to not allow a pesky coffee stain to ruin your coffee moment. Do you have any coffee stain cleaning tricks of your own?