Being Wise on Stains of Coffee During Carpet Cleaning

Coffee – we love it. It gets us through the working day, it provides a focus for social activity and, for many of us, it's a necessary part of getting out of bed each morning.

The one place that heart-starting flat white doesn't belong, though, ladies, is on your carpet.

When it comes to spilled coffee, time is of the essence, the sooner you can treat these spills, the less likely that there will be a stain. However, there are times when we don't (or can't) clean up a spill right away and we're left with a mark as a reminder of our delay.

Using kitchen towels or a plain white cloth, absorb as much of the spill as possible. Use a pressing or blotting motion as rubbing may force the stain deeper into the carpet's fibres.

After blotting the dampness and coffee from the carpet you will want to follow these simple steps for removing coffee stains from your carpet:

• Dry the spot as well as possible with a dry cloth by blotting. If there is a substantial amount of spillage you can make sure you are not spreading the stain by changing cloths when they become saturated with the beverage.
• Try the mixture of vinegar, water, and detergent, rinse, and repeat.
• There are certain types of carpets such as Polypropylene that will respond safely to a carpet stain treatment of water and bleach. You can create a mixture of 1/4 cup of bleach to 1 ¼ cups of water in a spray bottle. Spray the stained area, soaking it thoroughly, blot, rinse with warm water, and repeat until the carpet stain disappear

Wet the stain with a mister bottle or a sponge. Use cold water, not hot, to avoid "setting" the stain.

Repeat the blotting process. If you are using a cloth rather than kitchen towels ensure it is plain white or colourfast – you don't want dye from that Rotorua souvenir tea towel making the stain even worse.

How's it looking? It would be nice to think that the damping/blotting process is all you need but, sadly, this is unlikely to be true for all but the most insipid of brews. More likely you'll need to proceed to sterner measures.

Next, make a solution of 1/3 cup white vinegar and 2/3 cup of water. Dab this onto the stain and work in. Leave for 10 minutes. White vinegar not only continues the cleaning process but also removes any detergent residue which, if left on the carpet, will attract dirt. Blot, then rinse the area again using a mister bottle or sponge. Blot until dry – you can save yourself a little effort here by placing a wad of kitchen towels over the area and weighting them down with a heavy baking tray. Leave this overnight and in the morning your carpet should be dry and stain-free.

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