Enjoying a fresh cup of coffee on your way to work in the morning is something that everyone might love. It will help you chase away any sleepiness and help you get ready for the day ahead. Unless you accidentally spill your coffee onto the car seats. In that case, your morning routine will quickly become a lot less delightful.
Thanks to heavy traffic, coffee spills can disrupt your entire plan for the day. They can be a real hassle to deal with, but don’t let them ruin your day. Treating coffee spills can be challenging, but it isn’t impossible. With a little bit of patience and commitment, you’ll be able to wash away even older coffee stains that have been bothering you for a long time. Read on to learn how to get coffee out of a car seat.
How to Get Coffee Out of a Car Seat
Method 1: Cleaning fresh coffee stains
If you’ve just spilled coffee on your car seats, make sure you treat the stain as quickly as possible. If you can, pull over to the nearest parking lot to see the severity of the stain. Use a paper towel, a napkin, or any clean cloth you have around the car to absorb the excess liquid. Gently press the cloth into the spill to get as much moisture as possible. Don’t rub the stain, as that will quickly spread it further.
If there are any leftover coffee beans or other solid material from your coffee, make sure you remove them. Coffee beans and powder can quickly get into areas that are harder to reach and cause permanent stains if you don’t remove them promptly.
After eliminating both the liquid and solid parts of your coffee, apply cool water to the stain. Use a clean cloth or a paper towel to remove the water, and repeat the process a couple of times. If you have any baking soda or dish soap, apply them to the stain. Blot them gently using a napkin and let the solution sit for a couple of minutes before washing it off with some water and using a napkin or a cloth to remove the excess water.
Method 2: Cleaning older coffee stains
If you fail to notice that you’ve accidentally spilled some coffee on your car seat or don’t have the time to treat the stain immediately, the coffee stain will become stronger and more challenging to get rid of. In that case, using soap and baking soda may not do the trick.
Before you start treating more robust coffee stains, you need to know that different types of seats require other cleaning solutions, so what you should use depends on the material of your seats.
Cleaning older coffee stains on cloth car seats
To clean a hardened coffee stain off your cloth car seats, you’ll only need some basic kitchen supplies that you probably already have.
The best solution you can use for treating a coffee stain from cloth surfaces is a mix of vinegar and water. White vinegar is often used to treat different types of stains, and it works with coffee spills as well. Add one teaspoon of white vinegar to 4 cups of cold water, and apply the solution directly to the stain using a clean cloth or sponge. Allow the mixture to sit for about 30 minutes, then rinse the area with cold water and blot until dry. You can also add club soda to the solution for a more robust mixture.
If the white vinegar mixture didn’t clean up the coffee stain entirely, you could also try removing it using glass cleaner. Spray a generous amount of your glass cleaning solution on the affected area, as it may break up the stubborn stain. Before applying the solution, test it on a smaller area to see whether it will affect the upholstery’s appearance. If it doesn’t do any harm, apply it to the stain and leave it for a couple of minutes before blotting the seat dry.
Cleaning older coffee stains on vinyl car seats
The best way to get rid of coffee stains on your vinyl car seats is to use baking soda. Vinyl seats shouldn’t be treated with any hefty and abrasive solutions, so baking soda should help you remove the stain. Make a denser paste using baking soda and water, and apply it to the stain. Spread it gently using a soft brush, give it some time to work, then blot dry with a clean cloth.
When cleaning your vinyl car seats, avoid any oil or mineral-based solutions, as they can be very harsh to the material and make it harden or crack.
Cleaning older coffee stains on leather car seats
Coffee stains from leather car seats can be removed using milder solutions and products. If you have some baby wipes at hand, they should be your first option. Baby wipes are usually gentler than your regular wipes, so they shouldn’t contain any ingredients that will harm the leather. If you have leather car seats, you can buy leather wipes specially designed to treat car seats and have them at hand anytime an accident occurs.
If the wipes don’t work, you can try to remove the coffee stain using a low or pH-neutral detergent, like milder dish soap. Mix it into cold water and blot the stains. If you want to give your car seats a premium treatment, you can buy special solutions designed for treating stains on leather.
Finish with a protective coating
Fabrics like vinyl and leather can be very sensitive to cleaning, so you should add a conditioner to finish the job. Conditioners will soften and moisturize the material to prevent it from drying and cracking after being cleaned.
Some conditioners include a protective coating that’ll help you protect the fabric from future stains and make them less severe. So if you want to save some trouble and avoid going through the entire “how to get coffee out of a car seat” process again, we suggest you get a protective conditioner. It will save you a lot of effort the next time you drop some food or spill your drink over the car seats.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these cleaning methods will help your car seat be clean once again. Since it all depends on your car’s seat fabrics, it is essential to use the proper method for the specific fabrics for better results. Don’t get into a panic; clean it patiently and go your way worry-free.
