Tea
A tannin stain treated entirely without solvent — detergent, then a mild acid. The absence of a solvent step is the finding.
Precautions
- Test on an inconspicuous area first
In detail
Tea colours with polyphenols and tannins, the same family that colours coffee and red wine, and the carpet trade's entry for it is one of the shortest in the database precisely because the answer is narrow. It is aqueous-only: a weak detergent solution first, a white vinegar solution second if the mark survives, then a lukewarm rinse. No solvent appears anywhere in it, which distinguishes tea from the oil, ink and chocolate entries and matters because reaching for a solvent brings a hazard the aqueous route does not — solvent reaching a carpet's backing damages the latex bonding its two layers together. The dilutions are stated with unusual precision: a quarter teaspoon of liquid dish washing detergent per cup of lukewarm water, never stronger, and one cup of white vinegar per two cups of water. Two whole product classes are excluded with reasons attached. Laundry detergent of any type is out because laundry detergents may contain optical brighteners, and automatic dishwashing detergent is out because many contain bleaching agents. Both matter here: a brightener leaves a fluorescent residue, and a bleach acts on the carpet's own dye as readily as on the tea.
What works
Sodium carbonate is effective against Tea Supported
Sprint 29. A hot washing-soda soak, named for tannin staining specifically.
Hacks and claims involving this
- Using laundry detergent on a carpet stain Does not work
Sources for this page
Sources
Spot Solver: spot and spill removal procedures
The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That tea is treated with a detergent solution then a vinegar solution and a lukewarm rinse with no solvent step, that laundry detergent is excluded because it may contain optical brighteners, and that automatic dishwashing detergent is excluded because many contain bleaching agents. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — Sprints 5-10 read fifteen entries stain by stain. Sprint 30 enumerated the database from the publisher's own spot-solver sitemap — 296 entries — and read 134 more, chosen by open demand and by soil class rather than alphabetically, plus the generic 'Unknown' entry. 135 of 296 entries now read. Supports the claim as stated.
Last reviewed by a person on .