How to Get Coffee, Wine and Grease Stains Out of Carpet

Most carpet stains are beatable if you get to them fast and do the right thing. The wrong thing - scrubbing, heat, the wrong product - is what turns a spill into a permanent mark. Here is the playbook for the three most common ones.

The rules that apply to every stain

1. Act now. A fresh spill is 10 times easier than a dried one.
2. Blot, never rub. Rubbing spreads the stain and frays the fibers. Press a clean white towel straight down, hard.
3. Work from the outside in so you do not spread it.
4. No heat. Hot water and steam can permanently set coffee, wine and many food stains. Use cool water until the stain is gone.
5. Test any product on a hidden spot first.

Red wine

1. Blot up everything you can with a dry white towel.
2. Pour a little cool water over it and blot again. Repeat. You are diluting and lifting.
3. Mix one teaspoon of dish soap + one tablespoon of white vinegar + two cups of cool water. Apply a little, blot, repeat.
4. Finish with plain cool water to rinse the soap out, then blot dry and put a dry towel with a weight on it.
5. Skip the salt and the boiling water tricks - they often set the tannins.

Coffee

1. Blot up the liquid.
2. Same dish-soap-and-vinegar solution as wine. Coffee has tannins too, so cool water only.
3. Rinse, blot, dry.
4. A faint tan shadow that will not budge is usually the tannin dye. That is a job for professional hot-water extraction with a tannin spotter.

Grease and oil (butter, salad dressing, makeup)

1. Scrape off any solids with a spoon.
2. Cover the spot with baking soda or cornstarch and leave it 15 minutes to pull the oil up, then vacuum.
3. Apply a small amount of dish soap worked in gently with a soft cloth - dish soap is built to cut grease.
4. Blot with cool water to rinse, then dry.

When to stop and call a pro

• The stain is older than a day or already dried
• You have blotted and treated and there is still a visible mark
• It is on a wool or delicate carpet
• It is a large spill, or several spots

Trying more products on a stain that is not moving usually just damages the carpet. Call (805) 704-2301 for a quote, or book online - we would rather treat it right than have you set it.