How to remove coffee stains from clothes, fresh or old

Step by step: how to remove coffee stains from clothes, fresh or old

1. 1

   Blot up the spill

   Press a white cloth or paper towel on the stain to soak up as much coffee as you can. Do not rub, which grinds the brown pigment deeper into the fibers.

2. 2

   Flush with cold water from the back

   Turn the fabric inside out and hold the stain under a cold tap so the water pushes the coffee back out. Keep going for a minute or two, until the water runs clear. Avoid hot water at this stage, especially if the coffee had milk in it.

3. 3

   Rub in liquid detergent

   Work a little liquid laundry detergent into both sides of the stain with your fingers or a soft toothbrush. Leave it 5 to 10 minutes, then rinse with cool water. Most fresh black coffee stains fade away here.

4. 4

   Use an enzyme pretreat for coffee with milk

   Milk and cream add protein and fat to the stain. Spray or rub an enzyme stain remover onto the spot and leave it for the time on the label, usually 5 to 15 minutes, before washing. The enzymes break down the dairy part that detergent alone can leave behind.

5. 5

   Soak what is left in oxygen bleach

   For a brown shadow that remains, or a stain that dried hours ago, dissolve oxygen bleach in cool or warm water as the tub directs and soak the item for 1 to 6 hours. Mississippi State Extension recommends a cool soak and a pretreat for beverage stains, then a wash with fabric-safe bleach.

6. 6

   Wash on the warmest safe setting

   Wash the garment as the care label directs, using the warmest water it allows and your usual detergent, plus oxygen bleach in the drum if you did not soak. Tide recommends an oxygen-boosted detergent for coffee stains on white shirts.

7. 7

   Check before you dry

   Look at the spot while it is damp, in daylight if you can. If you still see a ring, repeat the detergent and soak steps. Tide warns that drying will set a coffee stain, so air dry until it is completely gone.

How to remove old or dried coffee stains

Soak the stain longer and use enzymes and oxygen bleach, rather than a stronger chemical. Coffee contains tannins, plant pigments that oxidize and darken over time, so a dried stain looks worse but usually still lifts.

• Start with a 30 minute soak in cold water to rehydrate the stain.
• Apply an enzyme product before laundering, which Mississippi State University Extension suggests for older beverage stains.
• Soak overnight in oxygen bleach for stains that have been through a wash already.
• If the color will not budge on white cotton, chlorine bleach is the last resort, used only if the care label allows it. NMSU’s stain guide says to use the gentlest method first and rinse between removers.

Coffee stains by fabric

When you get coffee stains out of clothes, the fabric decides how hard you can push the treatment.

Enzyme products can damage protein fibers like silk and wool, so keep them for cotton and synthetics. For coffee on rugs and wall-to-wall carpet, use our coffee stains on carpet guide, which uses blotting instead of soaking.

Coffee stains on mugs, travel cups and carafes

Scrub ceramic mugs with a paste of baking soda and a little water; soak stainless travel mugs and thermoses in hot water with oxygen bleach or a denture tablet. The brown film is the same tannin residue that stains fabric.

• Ceramic mugs: rub baking soda paste around the inside with a damp sponge, rinse, and the ring comes off in a minute or two.
• Stainless travel mugs: fill with hot water and a spoonful of oxygen bleach, leave 30 minutes to overnight, then rinse well. Do not use chlorine bleach on stainless steel.
• Glass carafes and coffee maker parts: see our coffee maker guide for descaling and the carafe.

Mistakes to avoid

• Rinsing a coffee and milk stain in hot water, which sets the dairy proteins.
• Rubbing with a napkin, which spreads the stain and roughens the fabric.
• Putting the shirt in the dryer to “see if it came out”.
• Using chlorine bleach on colored clothes and leaving a pale patch.
• Using an enzyme stain remover on silk or wool.