coffee spill on carpet

Blot up every bit of liquid first. Most of the stain leaves with the coffee. Outside in, always.

The method

1. Blot up every bit of liquid first. Most of the stain leaves with the coffee.
2. Cold water, dabbed on, not poured. Flooding pushes it into the pad.
3. Outside in, always.
4. If there was cream in it, treat the grease after the color comes up.
5. Blot dry completely. Damp carpet is what makes it come back.

Why the common fix backfires

Coffee has tannin and often milk fat. Heat cooks the tannin into the fiber and turns the milk fat rancid, which is where the sour smell comes from later.

The honest limit

Cream and sugar leave a residue that attracts dirt. That residue needs a rinse-extraction to actually leave.

Serving Galt, Lodi, Elk Grove, Herald, Wilton, Sacramento. Call (916) 919-7642.