If you have hardwood floors, you know it can be a scary thing to try to clean.
Often you are unsure which products to use to clean and not damage it.
It’s even more concerning when you have coffee stains that have shown up overnight that you need to get out.
Don’t worry, we’ve been there and done the research to learn how to remove coffee stains from hardwood.
Follow the instructions below to learn how to remove coffee stains from hardwood floors.
What You’ll Need
- Clean cotton cloth
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Hardwood floor cleaner
Now that you have everything you need, keep reading for step-by-step instructions on how to remove coffee stains from hardwood floors.
1. Place Cloth On Stain
Take your clean cotton cloth and place it over any coffee stain you spilled on the hardwood floor.
If you have multiple locations with coffee stains or a more significant coffee stain on your hardwood floor, you may need to use several clean cloths.
2. Soak Cloth With Hydrogen Peroxide
Use your hydrogen peroxide and pour it over the cloth.
Pour enough so that you are soaking the cloth through with hydrogen peroxide.
Make sure you are using the cloth, as you do not want to pour the hydrogen peroxide directly on the hardwood floor because that may damage the floor.
3. Wipe Up Hydrogen Peroxide
After allowing the hydrogen peroxide to soak through the clean cloth and sit on the coffee, the stain will help pull out the hardwood floor’s coffee stain.
Once the hydrogen peroxide soaked cloth has sat there on the coffee stain and helped pull out the coffee from the hardwood, begin to wipe up the hydrogen peroxide from the hardwood floor.
Be sure not to let the hydrogen peroxide sit too long on the hardwood floor, as you want to be sure not to cause further damage to the hardwood floor.
Also, make sure that you remove all the hydrogen peroxide as you do not wish to leave any hydrogen peroxide residue left on your hardwood floor.
Feel free to repeat these steps if the coffee stain remains on your hardwood floor.
Some stains may require multiple attempts to remove the coffee stain from the hardwood floor.
4. Use Specific Hardwood Floor Cleaner
If the hydrogen peroxide method does not remove the coffee stain from the hardwood floor, consider using a cleaner that is specifically meant to be used on hardwood floors.
I recommend using this Pledge Wood Floor Cleaner Liquid that I found on Amazon.
It’s specifically designed for hardwood floors and gets outstanding reviews on Amazon.
Follow the instructions on the hardwood floor cleaner to help remove the coffee stain from your hardwood floor.
Be sure to test the hardwood floor cleaner on an inconspicuous spot on your floor to ensure that using this hardwood floor cleaner will not damage your hardwood floor.
Video Instructions
- Step 1 (:25) — Place cloth on stain
- Step 2 (:28) — Soak cloth with hydrogen peroxide
- Step 3 (:30) — Wipe up hydrogen peroxide
- Step 4 (:38) — Use specific cleaner
FAQ
How Does Hydrogen Peroxide Remove Coffee Stains From Hardwood Floors?
Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizer that allows it to break down compounds.
This oxidizer will enable it to break down coffee stains and remove them from the hardwood floors.
What Other Household Products Can I Use To Remove Coffee Stains From Hardwood Floors?
There are other methods people recommend to remove coffee stains from hardwood floors, such as applying a paste of water and baking soda and rubbing it until the stain is gone.
Be careful with this method, as baking soda is used to make an abrasive paste.
Too much of an abrasive material being rubbed into the hardwood floor might cause minor scratches on the finish of your hardwood floor.
Can I Use White Vinegar To Clean Coffee Stains From Hardwood Floors?
Technically, yes.
White vinegar can be used to clean coffee stains as it is good at breaking down the acid of coffee stains using its acid characteristics.
Doing this, however, is not recommended.
While the acidity of the white vinegar will eat away at the acid in the coffee stains, that same acid can remove any wood stain from your hardwood floors.
This is not a chance I would recommend taking as you do not want to create more damage on your hardwood floor than a coffee stain has already created.
While white vinegar is generally a catch-all as a natural and at-home cleaner, there are other ways to remove coffee stains from hardwood flooring.
What Household Cleaning Products Should Not Be Used On Hardwood Floors?
Avoid using any oil, wax, or sprays for furniture.
These will often leave a residue and create their own different types of stains.
Also, do not use undiluted ammonia, cleaning products that are alkaline based, or any more abrasive cleaning product.
These types of cleaners can harm the finish of your hardwood floors and cause the hardwood floors to look dull.
In addition, do not use lemon juice or any vinegar cleaning solution to clean your hardwood floors as their natural acidity may damage the floor’s sealant.
How Can I Avoid Getting Coffee Stains On My Hardwood Floors?
It is a good idea to use a hardwood floor protectant, specifically for hardwood floors.
Do not use a protectant that is not explicitly for hardwood floors, as different flooring requires different treatments.
Try using this Rejuvenate Professional Wood Floor Restorer that we found through an Amazon search.
It gets excellent reviews and is recommended for any type of flooring.
In addition to treating your hardwood floors with some protective layer, you will want to clean off your hardwood floors periodically to remove any natural dirt and debris that will be on your floor.
Try to sweep and dry mop daily and vacuum weekly.
Areas that have high traffic should be wet mopped at least twice a month.
Doing this will help remove any stains on your hardwood floors and make for easier upkeep.
To help your hardwood floors stay coffee stain-free is to clean with hardwood cleaner once a month.
Also, you will want to apply hardwood floor finish every three to five years, depending on the amount of traffic on the floor.
It is also recommended to sand and refinish your hardwood floors every ten years.
If this article has been helpful, check out our similar article dedicated to showing you how to remove coffee stains from your carpet.
