Clean Chocolate Stain From Upholstery

Posted 2013-09-14 by Oxford Explorer ⇒ follow

After rennovating my lounge, it took a long time to find the right sofa. I felt a little like Goldilocks as I searched high and low. They were either too deep, too hard or too modern for my period house. Finally, I found the perfect sofa and against all advice, I purchased it in cream.

At the time I had a young son and now a few years later I have another. A cream sofa is obviously not ideal when you have young children but I love it.

Keeping it free from stains can be a real challenge. No matter how careful you are to make sure little hands are wiped clean, there can be the odd accident.

Chocolate Stain

Chocolate is usually a no no for kids in my house but we're in the middle of potty training and a little chocolate is proving a motivating reward.

Unfortunately last night, the excitement of chocolate was just too much and I spotted a chocolately dribble stain very visible on my sofa.

It's actually quite straight forward to remove a chocolate stain from upholstery and the trick is to move quickly before it sets into too much.

What you need

1 clean container

2 cups of cool clean water

1 tablespoon washing up liquid (liquid dish washing detergent depending on what country you're in)

1 large clean white cloth (or 2 smaller ones)

No need for expensive stain removers when you have some water and washing up liquid

Method

First of all remove any excess chocolate but be careful not to rub the stain any further.

Mix the tablespoon of washing up liquid into the cool water. Don't use warm or hot water as this will set the stain.

Take part of your clean white cloth and dip it into the soapy water.

Gentle dab at the chocolate stain.

Use a dry part of the cloth and dab dry.

Repeat this soapy water dabbing and then blotting dry several times until the stain is full removed.

Stain starting to go.

I had to do it three times until I was sure the stain was removed. It's really important not to scrub at the stain as you'll push it into the weave of the fabric further.

When the stain has been removed, blot gently with clean water, without over soaking it and then leave to fully dry.

Phew was my feeling after this little incident.