• Enjoy your coffee without fear of unsightly stains.coffee in coffee image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
  
  Removing coffee stains from carpet, clothing or upholstery is possible, but you must know what was added to the coffee before you begin cleaning. Coffee is considered a tannin stain, but any cream or milk in the coffee is classified as a protein stain according to the Ohio State University Information Extension. These various types of stains require different treatments to ensure that your unsightly coffee spill is removed completely.
  
  

Blot Coffee Stains

• Whether the coffee is black or contains cream, always treat coffee stains by gently blotting the stain with a thick pad of paper towels or a clean cloth. Avoid scrubbing at the stain because that might drive the stain deeper into the carpet or fabric fibers and make it more difficult to remove. Focus on transferring the stain from the surface to your pad by gently patting it in an up-and-down motion.
  
  

Vinegar Carpet Cleaning Solution

• Once most of the liquid from the spilled coffee is removed from your carpet, you can begin treating the stain. The University of Illinois Extension Stain Solutions website recommends using a mixture of 1/3 cup of white vinegar and 2/3 cup of water to clean coffee stains. Apply this homemade cleaner with a spray bottle to soak the carpet, and continue to blot with fresh paper towels.
  
  

Detergent Cleaners

• Dilute detergents before you apply them to carpet or upholstery by stirring approximately 1 tbsp. of the detergent into 2 cups of cool water. The contents of your spilled coffee become important when choosing a detergent to clean the stain. Most dish soap and laundry detergent is sufficient to treat a black coffee stain, but look for enzyme laundry detergent to treat coffee stains containing cream or milk. The enzyme detergent helps to remove the protein stain caused by the cream in addition to the tannin stain of the coffee. Blot your diluted detergent onto the coffee stain, and avoid rubbing the stain. Anytime you use detergent to clean carpet or upholstery, rinse the area by blotting it gently with clean water and a clean cloth.
  
  

Coffee Stains on Clothing

• Treat stained clothing as soon as possible by applying a laundry pretreatment product to the stain. Use enzyme pretreatment products if the coffee contained cream. Let the product soak into the fabric for at least one minute, and either wash the clothing immediately in your washing machine or soak the clothing in a tub of warm water for 30 minutes to remove the stain. Always inspect the clothing after washing to ensure that the stain is removed. If you dry clothing with a stain, the heat of the dryer may set the stain permanently.
  
  

Bleach Coffee Stains

• You can attempt to bleach the coffee stain if bleach is safe to use on the stained garment. If bleach will discolor or damage the item, try using oxygen bleach instead. Add the bleach to your washing machine as you would normally, and inspect the garment to see if the stain is removed before you place it in the dryer.