For coffee stain on white cotton: Rinse cold immediately โ and add detergent if there was milk in it. Follow the steps below and most of these come out without a trip to the cleaner.
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 โ 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.
Never do this
- Rinsing hot first โ it sets the milk protein
- Sprinkling salt on it โ a folk remedy that can fix the stain instead
- Ironing over a dried stain โ heat makes it permanent