Coffee Stains

[Jim Pemberton]

How many of you are successful at removing coffee stains from carpet with a simple acid spotter? Not a reducing agent, but just as acid spotter with surfactant.

Note: I consider a coffee "stain" to be what's left after you've cleaned the carpet. Not a relatively fresh coffee "spot" would have come out in cleaning anyway, but the "stain" that is left after you've removed all of the water soluble material from the spill.

If that hasn't worked for you, what do you use?

 

[Shawn Forsythe]

Do you refer to an actual coffee stain, from virgin roasted beans?
As opposed to the artificial colorants added to decaf, and other flavored designer coffee drinks.

 

[colin fitch]

Yes i have taken many a coffee stain out of wall to wall carpet [80%wool/20% nylon] with 5% acetic acid.

On arrival spray acetic,set up and rinse.
Then clean carpet in the normal way

Colin.

 

[Chris A]

I HAVE a coffee stain remover, but I usually just use whatever's close, like more pre-spray. I think that bottle's been in my van 2 years now...

 

[Jim Pemberton]

My mistake

The real thing with coffee beans

Please feel free to add your procedure for the artificially colored stuff that supposed to be coffee.

 

[Jimmy L]

.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Tide Stain Release.

 

[joe harper]

WHITE VINEGAR........... !gotcha!



If you Don'T believe it... :roll:

Go get that stained coffee POT...put 1 cup of white vinegar...2 tablespoons of salt...
and 5 or 6 ice cubes...SWIRL around & watch how it removes the STAIN... :wink:

 

[Jimmy L]

.

 

[joe harper]

peroxide and a spritz of ammonia do it for me.

DITTO...

The vinegar will...also lower the PH of this high alkaline..mixture..!

While it will also HELP ..stop "wicking" & act as a defoamer.. :wink:

 

[Jimmy L]

.

 

[Bjorn]

dude!!!!!!!!!!

what kind of coffee?

Was it a cafe latte double americano triple half calf milk with a splash of almond flavor?

was it decaf? the worst because of food coloring

how hot did it hit the carpet?

I thought you were a pro?

fels naptha works most of the time

the other coffee stain removers with sodium bisulfite will give me an asthma attack

 

[Fred Homan]

Thanks for the reminder "T" Just put bar of Fels Naptha in my van...

 

[ACE]

Ammonia from what I read is some sort of REDUCER.

The liquid peroxide is on the acid side .

So you have a combo of an acid and reducer.

Ammonia is in no way a reducer.

 

[Jimmy L]

.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I got barbequed by some of the IICRC faithful for this thought several years ago. If you get the chance, go to a community college or university and take a semester of entry level chemistry (I loved the physics, math, English, etc etc as well).

Yes Ammonia can be a reducer.

It's not as complicated as some make it. Think of water, hydrogen and oxygen. Simple components of many of our everyday products. pH and redux (reduction and oxidation) are measures of how these two simple elements affect chemistry.

pH is related to the potential of HYDROGEN in a given watery solution.
Redux is related to OXYGEN in that solution.

Thanks,
Lee

 

[Loren Egland]

I once spilled some coffee on the carpet and quickly hooked up the truck mount believing I could just rinse it away. Didn't work until I treated it with Steam Way 601 acid side spotter. It cleaned right up.

Now days I just pretreat with Stain Magic or equivilant and let it set while I clean elsewhere. If a little left, just post treat and leave.