Clean Coffee Stains From Walls Without Causing Damage

Blame the tannin in your coffee for staining not only your teeth but your cups, tables, and other surfaces as well. If you accidentally splash coffee on a wall (or any other surface), you want to act quickly before the liquid dries, and if you're dealing with the fallout hours later, you need to be smart about it. Enter baking soda. It's not the only natural ingredient that works wonders on even the toughest of stains, but bicarbonate of soda is a particularly good spot treatment for coffee residue — here's why. Baking soda is alkaline and coffee is mildly acidic. When combined, a neutralization reaction occurs that can weaken the bonds between the stain and the wall and make the particles in the stain water soluble.

It's pretty simple to clean your wall from a coffee spill. All you need for the cleaning solution is a ratio of roughly equal parts baking soda and water to form a paste. Working before it dries, apply the mixture to the stain. If you feel comfortable with scrubbing the wall, gently scour the surface lightly with a softer brush at this point. Sodium bicarbonate is slightly abrasive  but should not scratch the area you're cleaning, provided you don't apply too much force. You can rinse off the paste at this point, however, the solution packs a stronger punch if you leave it to dry, preferably overnight. After waiting for the treatment to work, wipe the wall down well and your stain should have disappeared. If not, repeat the process until you achieve that flawless, never-been-doused-in-coffee look. 

But what if your coffee has spilled on a (gasp) wallpapered wall? You might be filled with relatable feelings of panic, but the good news is that you don't have to re-paper the room. Once again, baking soda is the star kitchen ingredient that can revamp your wallpaper and clean it thoroughly. After preparing a baking soda and water paste, your next step is to test the solution on a small, inconspicuous area. If the wallpaper does not discolor or react negatively to the solution, you can go ahead with removing the coffee stain. 

Apply the homemade spot treatment, remembering to keep the solution fairly dry. While wallpaper has come a long way, you don't want wetness to seep into the paper and cause the surface to bubble or peel. Your spidey senses told you that bold wallpaper was coming back in style, but a blistering wall treatment is never pretty. After letting the mix work, sponge down the wallpapered surface and wait for it to dry before checking to see if the coffee splatter has been completely removed. If not, reapply the paste as you did before until you are satisfied with the result. Did the splash also reach your area rug? You can use a similar treatment to help get coffee stains out of your carpet.