How to Remove Coke Stains from Fabric and Clothes

Tips to Keep in Mind

• Act fast. The sooner you clean the Coke off the surface, the less chance there is of the liquid permanently staining it.
• Use cold water to treat Coke marks. Warm water can often set the stain, which makes it more challenging to remove.
• Always test your chosen cleaning solution on a discreet patch of material before you use it.
• To remove a Coke stain, work from the outside of the blemish and towards its centre. This keeps the blemish in one area and stops you from spreading it around.
• Don’t dry the fabric until all of the Coke has been removed from it. Double-check your items and re-treat them if need be.
• Don’t scrub the Coke stain. Scrubbing drives the sugary liquid deeper into the item’s fibres, making eradicating it more challenging. Blot the stain gently.
• Some Coke stains may need to be treated more than once. Don’t worry about this; sometimes, blemishes are tricky to remove.
• Always use neutral-coloured cloths. By doing so, you stop the transfer of dyes between fabrics.
• Blot up as much Coke as you can from the surface. Use plain kitchen paper or cloths to do this.
• After you’ve treated an item of clothing, read its care label and wash it according to the instructions on the tag. Not sure what the symbols mean? Use your phone to decipher the laundry symbols.

How to Remove Coke from Clothes

Tools you need:

• Cloths
• Running cold water
• Biological laundry detergent, like Persil Bio
• Optional: Oxygen-safe bleach
• Optional: Hydrogen peroxide (3%)
• Optional: Lemon juice

Steps to follow:

1. Blot up as much Coke as you can from the surface using a neutral-coloured cloth.
2. Flush cold water through the back of the Coke stain.
3. Cover the stain in a few blobs of laundry detergent.
4. Check the care label on the item and choose an appropriate cleaning cycle.
5. Add more biological laundry detergent to the appliance.
6. Start the wash.
7. Check the garment at the end of the cycle. Dry item if it is free from Coke. If not, repeat the steps above.

Note: Add some colour-safe bleach to the wash to tackle tough Coke stains. Ensure the garment can be bleached before trying this. For white clothes only, blot them with diluted hydrogen peroxide OR lemon juice, then launder them.

How to Remove Coke from Carpets, Upholstery and Other Fabrics

Tools you need:

• Cloths
• Bowl
• Washing up liquid
• Cup
• Running water
• Optional: Fan
• Optional: White vinegar

Steps to follow:

1. Grab some cloths and blot up the excess liquid.
2. Mix a blob of washing up liquid in a bowl with two cups of cool water.
3. Dip a clean cloth into the water.
4. Wring the cloth out.
5. Repeatedly blot the Coke stain. Use a new patch of cloth each time you blot so you don’t reapply the Coke to the surface.
6. Soak a new cloth in fresh, cold water and wring it out.
7. Blot the treated area to ‘rinse’ it clean.
8. Allow the surface to air dry naturally. Don’t walk or touch the treated area during this time. Use a fan to speed up the drying process.

Note: For tough stains on carpets, mix a tablespoon of white vinegar with the washing up liquid and water.

Using specialised stain removers

You can buy many off-the-shelf stain removers to tackle Coke stains on clothes and other fabric surfaces.

For example, you can use Vanish Fabric Stain Remover to treat Coke stains on coloured and white laundry. Simply follow the instructions on the packaging and wash your clothes.

Similarly, Vanish Oxi Action Carpet & Upholstery Stain Remover is a quick-acting stain remover that can eradicate marks from carpets and upholstery in 30 seconds.

Likewise, Dr. Beckmann’s Upholstery Stain Remover comes with a triangle-shaped brush head that you use to work the cleaning solution into the fabric surface. The brush head makes easy work of removing blemishes from fabrics.

For all the good official stain removers can do, it’s worth keeping in mind that specialised cleaning products get mixed results. Sometimes, they work exceptionally well the first time. Other times, you’ve got to repeat a treatment or swap to another stain removing product.

Of course, there are many factors which can influence how well a cleaning solution works, including the extent of the Coke stain, its location, and, most importantly, its age. These will all directly impact how well the products listed above will work.

Dry cleaning

If an item of clothing or piece of material is labelled ‘Dry Clean Only’, you should blot excess Coke off the piece and then take it to a dry cleaning store.

In addition, if you have tipped Coke over a delicate or vintage piece of clothing, you should take your item(s) to a dry cleaner to ask them for further cleaning advice. For furniture and carpets, ask a professional cleaner to come out and inspect them.

To find a specialist, do a quick online search.

Can Coke Stains Be Removed?

Yes, most Coke stains can be removed from clothes and upholstery. The faster you react to the mark, the better your chances are of removing it in its entirety. Follow the steps above to get rid of the Coke blemish from your item.

In contrast, if you leave Coke on a surface for a long time and don’t bother treating it, your garment or piece of furniture may end up with a sticky, sugar-filled stain. Don’t waste time; treat the Coke-related blemish immediately!  

Do Carbonated Soft Drinks Permanently Stain Clothes?

Yes, fizzy drinks can leave marks on clothes, particularly if the items of clothing are left untreated.

The blend of sweeteners, acids, dyes and fizziness can leave visible blemishes on garments.

Depending on what colour your pop is, you may be left with different coloured stains, like brown or yellow.

You should clean your soft drink-stained clothes immediately. This is the best way to stop the fizzy liquid from permanently damaging your outfits.

How Do You Get Old Coke Stains Out of Clothes?

The easiest way to remove old Coke marks from clothes is to treat them using the steps above (minus the blotting of excess liquid step).

You will likely have to repeat the steps above multiple times to remove very old Coke stains from your clothes. So be prepared to put the extra time in!

To treat an aged stain, coat it in laundry detergent or an off-the-shelf stain remover, then launder it multiple times to remove the blemish.

Or if the garment can be bleached, soak it in a bucket of diluted oxygen-safe bleach overnight.

If you need to treat white, Coke-stained clothes made from a hard-wearing material, soak them in diluted chlorine bleach for a few minutes and then wash them.

You can only repeat this method a few times because it will weaken the material.