How to Remove Chocolate Stains From Clothes, Carpet and Upholstery

How to remove chocolate stains from your clothes, carpet and upholstery. These simple stain solutions can help you get rid of the sweet spot - stat!

You may need to apply a stain removal solution several times before the chocolate blight is removed. Your persistence and patience, however, will be rewarded with spot-free clothing, furniture, and carpeting.

Here's how to remove chocolate stains from clothes, carpet, and upholstery. 

How to Remove Chocolate Stains from Clothes

First, be patient. Zapping a chocolate drip, drop, or splat without zapping the fabric itself requires a gentle touch and the patience to repeat treatment until the stain is removed.

To get chocolate stains out of clothes, start by scraping off excess chocolate from the garment. Treat the spot with an enzyme laundry detergent mix. Add one teaspoon of laundry detergent to one cup of water.

Apply to the stained area; allow it to work its stain-busting magic for 30 minutes. Repeat this step until you don't see any improvement.

If a ring or a slight stain remains, wipe the edges or spotty areas with a cloth dampened with hydrogen peroxide. Rinse thoroughly with cold water.

Wash the clothing item in the washing machine as usual with a non-chlorine (color-safe) bleach. 

How  to Remove Chocolate Stains on Upholstery

If kids and couch met snack time, look to the tags on your sofa cushions for guidance. You'll see either a W, S, WS, or X. (If your upholstered furniture doesn't have a code, test a cleaner on a hidden spot first.)

These codes will let you know about any limitations on the cleaning solutions you can use to remove chocolate stains from fabric. Since these letter codes are hardly self-explanatory, here's how to decipher upholstery cleaning codes:

W = Water Based Cleaning Agent

How to remove chocolate stains with a water-based product, such as a little foam from a mild detergent or non-solvent upholstery shampoo.

Use as little foam and water as possible to do the job; you don't want to get the upholstery too wet.

S = Solvent

How to remove chocolate stains with a mild water-free dry-cleaning solvent. Use just a little, and make sure you have plenty of ventilation. Don't put any water on it.

WS = Water-based Cleaner or Solvent

 You can use a dry-cleaning solvent, a mild detergent foam, or upholstery shampoo.

X = Don't Clean it Yourself

Hire a professional. You can, however, vacuum or brush off surface grime. Scrape any excess chocolate off gently with a butter knife or index card, working from the outer edge of the chocolate stain inward to avoid spreading it deeper into the upholstery fibers.

Mix one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergent with two cups of water. Using a clean cloth or paper towels, rub the chocolate stain from the outside edge inward. Sponge with cold water to remove any remaining soap. Blot dry. 

If that doesn't work, sponge the stain with a dry-cleaning solvent, like Guardsman Professional Strength Dry Cleaning Fluid Stain Remover Solution ($50). Repeat until the stain is gone.

A word of fair warning here is warranted: It often takes several - and up to a half-dozen or more - blotting sessions before the stain is removed.

It's time-consuming, yes, but also very effective if you blot, blot, and blot again as needed. Patience might very well save your couch or chair from an expensive professional upholstery cleaning.

To keep such confections from sweetening the upholstery in the future, keep the kids and the good stuff separate. (At least during snack time.)

How to Remove Chocolate from Carpet

Vacuum up any dry chocolate particles from the carpet surface to start. Mix a solution of 1/4 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and one cup of warm water.

Apply the solution with a cloth, gently dabbing it onto the chocolate stain. Work from the outside of the stain toward the center. Allow the solution to do its job for five minutes.

After five minutes, blot the stained area with a clean white cloth until the chocolate no longer transfers to your cloth.

Don't rub, or you may grind the chocolate further into the carpet fibers. Continue blotting until all the cleaning solution is removed.

If you can still see the stain, blot with this vinegar cleaning solution: mix two tablespoons of white vinegar with four cups of warm water. Repeat the steps above using the vinegar solution.

Once the stain is gone, layer paper towels over the treated area of the carpet to absorb any remaining moisture.

Place a non-staining glass or ceramic object atop the paper towels, and let it sit overnight. When the carpet is dry, vacuum the area to restore the texture.