If you have spilled coffee on your carpet, you want to act quickly.
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Blot, blot, and keep blotting.
Anytime you spill anything on your carpet, the first thing you want to do is blot up as much liquid as possible. However, do not plop your rag down in the center of the spill as this will actually spread the parameters of the spill. Rather, begin on the edges and work inward.
Tap water is your friend.
Once you have soaked up all the excess liquid, spray water on the stain. Get a clean rag and blot again.
Repeat this process over and over. This will take up quite a bit of the stain.
Start with the usual suspects.
Your next tools should be liquid dish soap and lemon juice. You want one squirt to about a quarter cup ratio. Add these two cleaning agents to a bowl of lukewarm water. Use a clean sponge to apply the cleaning solution to the stain. Begin at the edge of the stain and work your way across. Saturate the stain.
Next rinse the carpet with water and blot with a clean rag. Repeat this process until you cease to see any coffee stain coming up on the clean rag.
Old Stains
The steps above all apply to a fresh stain. If you are tackling a dried, old stain, you will need salt.
I’ll Have Mine with Salt!
Grab some salt and shake it generously over the stain. This pulls the stain to the surface, making it easier to clean.
Next you can try any—or all—of the common household items listed below.
When all else fails, try a little vinegar.
Pour vinegar into the water in a 3:1 ratio. Douse the stain with this mixture and blot up. If the stain is particularly damaging, leave it overnight with a bowl sitting upside down on top of the stain. (This will keep anyone from stepping into it and contain the smell a bit.)
Mix your vinegar with detergent.
Create a mixture of vinegar and detergent. You need a 1 TBL and 1/2 teaspoon respectively. Mix with lukewarm water and apply to stain.
Yet another use for baking soda.
You can make a paste with baking soda and water and work it into the carpet. Let that dry and then brush it back out and vacuum it up—hopefully with the stain attached!
Oh, Baby!
Lots of people swear by the power of baby wipes to blot up coffee stains from carpet.
A Close Shave
You can spray shaving cream onto the stain and blot up with a clean rag. Repeat as necessary.
Call in the reinforcements!
If none of this works, you can try a professional cleaning product made by Master Blend. However, you cannot just waltz into the grocery or department store and buy this. You have to buy it from a cleaning supply company.
There is another product which draws rave reviews. It is called ForceOut. It is a generic stain remover, but its advertisement does show a coffee spill. Again, this is a specialty product not sold in retail venues. You may purchase it online at Force Out Products.
Coffee stains can be unsightly, but if you keep working at it you should be able to finally free the fibers from the deep black liquid. Before you know it, you will have your beautiful carpet back, stain-free. Incidentally, these methods are appropriate for the carpet in your car, should you find yourself rushing to work and dousing the inside of your car with your morning cup of wake-up.
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