Coffee and tea stains: clothes, sofas, carpet and mugs

1. If you can get to a tap, rinse the spill with cold water. [1]
2. For tea, take a clean, damp paper towel or cloth and dab the stain to remove as much as possible. Dab, because rubbing makes it worse. [2]
3. Try to treat it before it dries. [2]

• 60 g (1 scoop) in 4 L
• Colours 1 h max
• Whites 6 h max

Vanish UK, for coffee: [1]

1. Add one scoop (60 g) of Vanish Oxi Action powder to 4 litres of water. Use Crystal White on whites.
2. Soak whites for up to 6 hours, colours for up to 1 hour.
3. Rub the stain before rinsing, then wash as usual.

For tea, Vanish suggests one cap of gel or one scoop of powder in 4 litres of warm or cold water (no hotter than 40 °C), the same soak times, then wash with another scoop of powder or gel in the machine. [2]

1. Wash as usual. University of Georgia Extension suggests using a bleach that's safe for the fabric, such as an oxygen bleach. [4]
2. Check the stain while the item is still wet. If it's still there, soak again before drying. [5]

With a carpet and upholstery spray (Vanish UK): [1][2]

1. Blot the spill with an absorbent cloth or paper towel to soak up as much as you can.
2. Spray the product onto the stain and leave for no more than 5 minutes.
3. Blot away with a clean, absorbent cloth. Repeat as needed: dried coffee stains may take more than one go.

Without a spray, for carpet (National Carpet Cleaners Association): [6]

1. Blot up as much as possible with a white cloth or kitchen towel, pressing hard.
2. Make a detergent and vinegar solution: 1 teaspoon of gentle woollens detergent in half a pint (0.3 litres) of warm water, plus 1 teaspoon of white (not malt) vinegar.
3. Working from the outer edge of the stain inwards, apply a little at a time and blot often with dry cloths.
4. Finish with the rinse in the carpet guide.