How to Get Rid of Chocolate Stains

So you’re a chocolate lover. By now you must know that rich, milky chocolate goodness will make an unmanageable mess when spilled. Chocolate contains a high amount of (delicious) fat that will keep working away to ruin your clothing and carpets, so get on that stain removal as soon as possible and as efficiently as possible.

Steps

Removing Chocolate Manually

1. Scrape off any chocolate gently from your garment by using a butterknife. Work on a flat surface as you do this, and be cautious as to not spread the chocolate around further.^[1] Remove as much excess chocolate as possible. Do not rub the chocolate into the clothing further.
   
   • If some chocolate is accidently spread to a new area of the garment, remove it immediately and follow the rest of the cleaning procedure.^[2] Chocolate stains strengthen as they age, thus it is important to remove it as soon as possible.
2. Massage laundry detergent into the stain. After applying detergent directly to the stain, allow it to soak for up to five minutes.^[3] Next, add the clothing into a bucket of cold water. Let the garment saturate completely. While soaking, gently massage the detergent into the stain. The more massaged in it is, the easier it will be to lift the stain.^[4]
   
   • Using hot water causes oily stains to lock down.^[5] Since chocolate is high in fat content, it is important to stick to cold water until you are sure your stain has been removed.
3. Rinse and look again. Rinse your clothing thoroughly. Is the stain still there? If it is present still, but improved, repeat the previous steps. By exposing the stain to detergent again, you will likely have complete success the second time around. When you are satisfied with your stain removal, launder your clothing as normal.^[6]
   

Beating the Stain with a Stain Remover

1. Make your own stain remover. Using one part dish soap and two parts 3% diluted peroxide, mix up your easy stain remover.^[7] The soap will remove grease and fat while the peroxide bleaches away any undesirable color.^[8] This at-home stain remover will double team the chocolate stain to ensure optimal removal.
   • When it comes to choosing a dish soap, try Dawn or Palmolive. Both brands are known for fat removal power by users.^[9]
2. Apply your remover to the stain. Leave on the spot for up to 15 minutes. Be cautious and observe your clothing while the remover is applied. Allowing the solution to sit too long can mean a color difference from the rest of your garment.^[10]
   • It never does harm to don some gloves and massage your stain remover into the stain. Never skip the gloves as hydrogen peroxide can be damaging to the skin.^[11]
3. Give the clothing a healthy rinse with cold water. Repeatedly rinse with cold water. Turn the garment inside out and rinse again, from the back side. This helps push out stain from behind, meaning it won’t turn up after a future wash.^[12]
   • If you’re satisfied with your stain remover, launder your garment again. If it seems no stain was removed at all, try leaving the remover on for a longer period of time.^[13]

Laundering your Clothes

1. Scrape off any excess chocolate. Lay your piece of clothing against a hard surface and use a butterknife or something with a rigid straight edge to scrape away any excess chocolate. Make sure to scrape it off along the circumference of the stain, covering the shortest amount of material. For example, if you are scraping off the stain from the middle of a shirt, scrape it off until the edges of the stain. Do not scrape past the stain itself or you will spread more chocolate.
2. Wash with detergent. Follow the usual instructions in the inside tag of your clothes. Be mindful of certain materials that can only be hand washed or dry-cleaned like wool. Clean whites on the hottest recommended water setting with a bleach. For colors, wash on the hottest recommended water setting with a detergent safe for colors.
3. Look for residual stains. After you have washed your clothes, look for residual stains and repeat the process as many times as possible. Do not place your clothes in the dryer without ensuring all the chocolate is gone. Drying your stained clothes can seal in the stain.

Removing Chocolate from the Carpet

1. Vacuum up any flakes or excess chocolate. Vacuuming the excess chocolate prevents it from being smushed or massaged into the carpet in new locations.^[14] Try using the hose and applying the vacuum directly above the chocolate, to prevent the underbelly of the vacuum from pushing the flakes around.
2. Apply a stain remover with a clean toothbrush. By gently dabbing, not rubbing, apply a stain remover to the carpet.^[15] Be cautious that the toothbrush is cleaner in between dabs to prevent the further spread of the chocolate. Let the stain remover do it’s work by allowing it to sit for five to ten minutes.
   • No stain remover? When working with carpet, try modifying the previously mentioned homemade remover by adding vinegar instead of peroxide.
3. Soak up the stain remover. This can mean by either blotting the stain with a clean towel, or layering paper towel atop the stain and weighing it down with books.^[16] Again, it is important to stress that you must not rub the stain, but rather blot to get the moisture out.
   • Keep blotting with clean, new areas of the towel. Blotting the same corner of the towel repeatedly may push chocolate back into the carpet.
   • If you see the stain still, don’t feel discouraged. Carpet is deep and thickly wound, and it is normal to need to apply the stain removal liquid more than once.
4. Reapply stain remover and blot again. When treating the stain, you will know it is cleaned when the blotting towel is moist, but clean. When you’re seeing a wet towel with no more chocolate from where you have been blotting, you know your stain is lifted.
   • You can amp up the ante of your removing power by applying a one to one mixture of liquid detergent to 3% peroxide.^[17] Use caution when applying peroxide to a carpet. It is high-powered for stain removal but can rapidly change the colors of your carpet.

Video

Warnings

• Laundry detergents and cleaning products are frequently harmful to mucus membranes and skin. Always protect yourself when working with chemicals by wearing gloves if handling, and keeping the mouth closed.^[18]
• If a chemical is put into your eye, rinse your eyeball with water for 15 minutes and call your local physician.^[19]

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• How to Remove Rust Stains from Paint

Sources and Citations

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