Coffee is an extremely important and vital part of most people’s day. Over 10 million tons of coffee are consumed every year across the world. With all of its deliciousness and energy-boosting properties, there’s no getting rid of coffee from our lives. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to get rid of those nasty coffee stains that find their way into every part of our lives. A sudden brake while driving and your latte forms a pattern on the car seats. What you thought was a push door turned out to be a pull, and suddenly your white sweater is brown. Don’t worry, we have solutions for all of your coffee stain related problems. From coffee stains on your teeth to spilled coffee on your couch, these tips can make coffee stains a thing of the past.
Coffee stains on your furniture can be an undeniably irksome and persistent problem. Between guests, children and sheer bad luck, more coffee ends up on the sofa than in your stomach. Flipping the couch cushions can be a solution, but it only works once!
We have a quick fix method that will work every time on fresh spills! Start by soaking up as much of the spilled coffee as possible with paper towels. Then put a few drops of ordinary laundry detergent onto a sponge and rub the stain in a careful circular motion so the stain doesn’t spread any further. If it is an especially persistent stain, just clean the sponge and get to work with the detergent again until it’s faded. Then wipe the area down with a fresh wet sponge.
Any kind of a stain on the carpet is a house owner's worst nightmare. Coffee stains are like the Freddie Krueger of all carpet stains. But much like Mr. Krueger, there is a way of defeating them, and it is as simple as white vinegar! White vinegar contains acetic acid, which is an excellent remover of stubborn stains.
1 tablespoon of white vinegar combined with an equal portion of liquid dish soap mixed in two cups of warm water will be your miracle solution. First, blot the spilled coffee with paper towels. If the stain has already dried out, add a little warm water and then blot with a dry cloth. Then, using a fresh cloth and the above-mentioned soap solution, rub the stain from the outside to prevent the spreading of the stain, until it is gone completely.
Cup holders seem very convenient until that one day you push the brake pedal suddenly and you realize how loose a grip the holder actually has. Also, you get to know how sticky leather seats can get when doused with hot coffee. Nevertheless, with a quarter cup of white vinegar, a little dish-washing soap and just 1 cup of water, you can get those seats looking and feeling smooth again.
In case of dry stains, make sure to add a little warm water first, and then proceed to blot the stain with paper towels. Then you can use a dry clean cloth, dipped into the vinegar-soap solution to clean any and all affected areas of the car, from the cup-holder to the seats. In places where stains have occurred on any form of fabric, make sure to rub in a circular motion so the stain doesn’t spread outward.
The sad truth is, our coffee mugs might be the most affected items in our lives, at least when it comes to coffee. Even if you manage to avoid stains appearing on the outside, often caused by congealed coffee, it is almost impossible to stop the inside of your mug from steadily gaining a browner color over days, weeks, and months. Until one day you find yourself with a mug that is now an entirely different color than the one you purchased, and your partner, parent or friend informs you that it may be time for a new mug. You can stop the cycle from repeating itself with one simple product: table salt.
Just fill the mug with a good layer of salt and use cleaning gloves to scrub the inside of the mug. This should remove the stain completely, and if salt doesn’t work or, perhaps, you’re facing a shortage, baking soda is also known to be effective. After you’re done scrubbing the mug, make sure to put it in with the next load of dishes to avoid your next cup of coffee being a salty one!
If you’ve managed to avoid staining the outside of your mug, chances are it’s because any and all spilled coffee has ended up on your kitchen counter, where it has remained unnoticed until your return from work in the night. By then, this warm delicious liquid has become a cold, brown, and almost-solid mess, and the color has seeped into the marble, wood, glass, or any other material in question. Well, believe it or not, there’s a very simple way to restore the original color of your counter, and it’s sitting in your fridge waiting for you.
Crack an ordinary egg, very carefully into a dish, and separate the white of the egg from the yolk. Feel free to keep aside the white of the egg to use in your next healthy meal, and then beat the yolk thoroughly. Using a cloth, apply the yolk generously to the stained area and let it sit for a minute or two until it is semi-dry. Then rinse the area thoroughly, and your kitchen counter shall be stain-free!
Despite its wonderful effects on your energy levels, coffee isn’t great for your teeth. Sure, the sugar can do some serious damage, so you might think that coffee would be harmless if you remove the sugar quotient. But coffee can also severely stain your teeth, leaving them yellowish or light brown, particularly if you are a frequent and regular coffee drinker. To prevent this, you may need to up your dental hygiene routine.
For starters, use toothbrushes with slightly harsher bristles, and only toothpaste that contains hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, as the former acts as a natural whitener while the latter is an effective stain remover. Also, make a habit of brushing your teeth after consuming coffee, or at the very least, rinsing your mouth with warm water.
Spilling coffee on your clothes is a part of life, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with the stains forever. If you want to get rid of that stain as soon as it hits the cloth, we may be able to help. First things first, though, check the label of the clothing in question to ensure there are no special cleaning instructions or restrictions.
The main three ingredients we’ll be using are white vinegar, table salt, and laundry detergent. First, sprinkle the affected area with table salt so the stain cannot spread. After a minute or two, brush off the coffee-absorbed salt with a paper towel. Run the back of the stain under cold water for about 15 minutes, then treat with small amounts of laundry detergent. Finally, apply a little white vinegar onto the stain and scrub with a toothbrush. After that, let the garment sit for fifteen minutes and then put it in the washing machine.
Now, for older coffee stains, you will need a different solution because the coffee is likely to have seeped deep into the cloth fibers. Have no fear though, we have a quick fix for that as well. To start with, you will need either rubbing alcohol or lemon juice. Dab the part of the garment with the dried stain with an extremely small amount of rubbing alcohol or lemon juice.
Make sure the cloth does not become too saturated with the liquid, only a very small amount is required to soften the stain. After the alcohol or lemon juice has dried, rub some laundry detergent onto the affected area until the stain is removed. Then, you can rinse the garment with warm water and after it dries, it will be suitable for a normal wash in the washing machine.
Nobody can afford to buy an expensive latte every morning, and if you have a particularly stressful job, having a coffee maker on hand, in an office, a study or at home, can be the best way to cut down on costs. But coffee makers are as susceptible to stains as our clothes, teeth, and furniture are. In fact, even more so, as coffee makers can be stained inside and out by spilled coffee grains and leftover coffee brew residue. To initiate the cleaning process, check the manual of your machine to see if it has any specified cleaning instructions. Keep in mind, on average, coffee makers need to be cleaned at least once every six months, if not more.
First, to clean the inside, use equal parts white vinegar and cold water poured into the pot of the machine, and hit the switch to make it brew. You can switch it off halfway through the cycle and then rinse out the container with soapy water. Then use clean cold water in a similar manner, allowing it to brew. Use clean water in the brewing cycle at least 3 times to clear out any residual soap or vinegar.
Once the inside is cleaned, you can use soap and water on a sponge, or straight vinegar on a cloth to wipe down the outside surface of the coffee maker. Clean any individual parts of the machine in a similar manner and then rinse thoroughly with cold water before leaving to dry. This will have your coffee maker looking as good as new!
Even if you’re using a hot plate designed for making coffee, it’s still likely to leave a big mess. Not including spilled coffee, which you now know the easy fixes for cleaning, with a hot plate there is the additional struggle of the stains left by burnt coffee. This, too, can be easily cleaned, though.
Start by ensuring the machine is switched off and unplugged. Then dip a cloth into a mix of dish-washing detergent and warm water, and scrub the cloth against the affected area until a majority of the burnt coffee stains are removed. You can scrub off the remaining residual stains with a sponge soaked in small amounts of white vinegar. Clean off the last of the residue as well as the white vinegar and soap with paper towels soaked in cold water. Finally, a dry paper towel will have your hot plate sparkling.
