Coffee stain gets harder to shift the longer it sits. Rinse cold immediately — and add detergent if there was milk in it.
Coffee is a tannin stain, so plain cold water removes a surprising amount. The trouble starts with milk and syrup: protein and sugar left behind turn into a yellow mark over time, and those need detergent to break down. Start cold — hot water coagulates the protein and fixes the stain.
Method by fabric
White cotton
What you need
- Cold water
- Laundry detergent
- Oxygen bleach
Steps
- 1Run cold water through the back of the stain.
- 2Apply neat laundry detergent and leave five minutes.
- 3Soak an hour in lukewarm water with oxygen bleach.
- 4Wash as usual.
- 5Repeat steps three and four before drying if anything remains.
Cotton and blends
What you need
- Cold water
- Laundry detergent
- Vinegar, optional
Steps
- 1Rinse from the back with cold water.
- 2Work detergent in with your fingertips.
- 3Soak thirty minutes in a litre of cold water with a tablespoon of vinegar.
- 4Rinse well and wash.
- 5Dry in the shade.
Silk and wool
What you need
- Dry towel
- Wool-safe detergent
- Cold water
Steps
- 1Blot with a dry towel.
- 2Dampen a cloth with dilute wool-safe detergent in cold water.
- 3Dab inward from the edge.
- 4Lift the detergent with a clean, cold, damp cloth.
- 5Dry flat.
Caution
Vinegar can dull the sheen on silk.
Never do this
- Rinsing hot first — it sets the milk protein
- Sprinkling salt on it — a folk remedy that can fix the stain instead
- Ironing over a dried stain — heat makes it permanent