First few minutes
Just happened? Do this first
- Blot the liquid up with a dry white cloth or white paper towels.
- On carpet, scoop up any dry powder or solids before you wet the spot.
- On clothes, flush the stain with cold water to push out as much color as you can.
- Act fast, because a fresh spill is far easier than one that has dried.
Red Kool-Aid is a dye stain, and it's one of the harder drink spills to shift from carpet or clothes. The artificial color soaks into fibers quickly, so a fresh spill is much more manageable than one that has already dried. Even with good work, you may be left with a faint pink tinge on carpet or upholstery.
Keep going on a counter or white shirt until no pink shows on your cloth. Old red Kool-Aid in carpet takes several rounds, so don't expect it gone after one. Rinse out each product before adding the next, or leftover residue can drag dirt back in.
7 items
What you'll need
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- Cold waterFlushes out loose color before anything else goes on.
- White cloth or white paper towelsBlot up liquid without spreading the color, and check for color at the end. (opens Amazon)
- Commercial pre-wash spotPretreats the stain so the detergent has more to work on. (opens Amazon)
- Stain remover (opens Amazon)
- Heavy-duty liquid laundry detergentLifts the color during the short pretreat and in the wash. (opens Amazon)
- Oxygen bleach powderHandles the last traces of color, after a test on colored items. (opens Amazon)
- Liquid dish detergent (carpet only)Makes the carpet solution: 1/4 teaspoon per 1 cup lukewarm water. (opens Amazon)
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6 steps
How to get kool-aid out of clothes
Step 1 of 6
Flush the stain with cold water
Hold the stained area under cold running water, or flush it from the back, so the loose color rinses out before anything else goes on. Keep flushing until the water runs clear or close to it.
Tip. Blot the water up with a white cloth as you go so the color doesn't spread.
Step 2 of 615 minutes
Pretreat with a spot remover
Spray the stain with a commercial pre-wash spot and stain remover, following the label, and let it stand for 15 minutes. Flush it with cold water when the time is up.
Tip. Spray only the stain, not the whole garment.
Step 3 of 65 minutes
Work in heavy-duty liquid detergent
Apply heavy-duty liquid laundry detergent directly to the stain and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then flush the stain with cold water.
Careful. Skip bar soap, which can set many stains.
Step 4 of 615 minutes
Cover the stain with oxygen bleach
Re-apply the pre-wash, then cover the stain with a paste of oxygen bleach and let it work for 15 minutes. Flush with cold water when the time is up.
Tip. Mix the powder with a little water until it forms a paste that stays on the stain.
Careful. Test colored items first, because oxygen bleach can damage colors that aren't colorfast.
Step 5 of 6
Launder in warm water
Re-apply the pre-wash and oxygen bleach to any traces left, then launder the item in warm water with heavy-duty liquid detergent and the oxygen bleach. Use warm water and a standard cycle.
Tip. Wash the item by itself or with light colors, so any leftover dye can't transfer.
Step 6 of 6
Check the color before drying
Press a white cloth against the stained spot, and check the fabric in good light for any pink. If any color is still there, repeat the pre-wash and oxygen bleach steps instead of drying the item.
Tip. Look at the spot while it's damp, since wet fabric shows a stain more clearly.
If you'd rather buy than mix
Best products for kool-aid
Choose a pre-wash spot remover and an oxygen bleach powder, and check each label before use.
Shout Triple-Acting Laundry Stain Remover
Puracy Laundry Stain Remover
How we picked these: each product is made for this type of stain, its maker doesn't warn against using it on this fabric, and its directions fit the steps above.
Finished the steps? How does it look?
Nice work. Let it dry completely and check it again in good light before using any heat. Here is what done looks like:
How to tell it's really gone →A faint mark usually needs one more round, not a stronger product.
If the stain was already dried or set, the method changes.
Old, dried or set-in stains →When to call a professional →How to tell it's working
On carpet, each blot should pull pink onto the white cloth and leave the spot paler than before. On clothes, the rinse water should run lighter with every pass, and if a full round changes nothing, the dye has probably bonded to the fibers and needs the old-stain route.
What changes for yours
Adjust for your fabric
Whites and white shirts
A white shirt is the one case where chlorine bleach is an option for Kool-Aid, provided the care label allows it. Use fresh bleach diluted at about half a cup per two cups of water, and add it five or six minutes into the wash cycle. Rinse out any vinegar, ammonia or other product with plain water first, because mixing those with chlorine is unsafe.
The stain should lift within about 15 minutes if the bleach is fresh. If it hasn't changed by then, stop, because more time mainly weakens the fabric.
Colors and denim
Colored shirts and jeans can't take chlorine, so the strong bleach route is off the table for Kool-Aid. Mix oxygen bleach powder into a paste, spread it over the spot and let it sit for about 15 minutes before a cold flush.
Test a hidden seam first: dampen it, press a white cloth on it and see whether any dye transfers. If any dye lifts onto the cloth, drop the bleach and go back to the detergent steps, then wash in the hottest water the fabric allows.
Silk, wool and delicates
Kool-Aid on silk, wool or spandex calls for a gentler approach, since chlorine bleach is off limits on these fibers. Blot the spot with a white cloth, rinse gently with cool water and stick to the mild dish-detergent steps. Skip ammonia here too, because it damages silk and wool.
Skip rubbing alcohol on these fibers too. It can lift many dyes, but it harms acetate, triacetate, modacrylic and acrylic fibers, so check the care label first. If the gentle treatments leave pink behind, a dry cleaner is the safer next move.
Dry-clean-only items
If the label says dry-clean only, don't experiment at home with bleach or solvents. Press up as much of the spill as you can with a white cloth, without rubbing, and hand the rest over. Solvents and bleaches used at home may strip the garment's own dye as well as the stain.
Fresh dye is much simpler for a cleaner to lift, so don't let the item sit in a hamper. Name both the stain and the fabric when you drop it off.
Carpet
Blot up as much liquid as you can with a dry white cloth, and scoop up any dry powder before you wet the spot. Then mix 1/4 teaspoon liquid dish detergent into 1 cup of lukewarm water, dampen a white cloth with a small amount, and work it in gently from the edges of the spill toward the center.
Blot again with clean water and rinse thoroughly, because leftover detergent can cause rapid re-soiling. Never use a stronger mix than the directions call for. Cherry Kool-Aid is handled the same way as red.
Red Kool-Aid
Red Kool-Aid doesn't need its own method, so the steps above work for it and for every other flavor. What changes is what you can expect, since some artificial fruit drinks leave a faint tinge even after a full treatment.
Keep repeating the pretreat and oxygen bleach while color still comes out on the cloth. Stop once the cloth stays clean, and don't push past that point.
Old, dried or set-in stains
Old Kool-Aid on carpet is the hardest case, and the realistic goal is to lighten it rather than erase it. Start with the dish-detergent solution from the carpet notes, work it in from the edges, and blot with clean water after each round until the cloth stops picking up color. Scrape up any dried solids with a rounded spoon before you wet the spot again.
Dried stains need more rounds, because the color has had time to settle into the fiber. On clothes, repeating the pretreat and oxygen bleach is normal, since some stains take more than one treatment, and a dilute soak in powdered color-safe bleach is the stronger option to try next.
If a faint pink tinge is still there after several rounds, that's about as far as it goes on carpet. Carpet testing on these drink stains has never removed one completely, so a faint tinge is the realistic target. Keeping children off the carpet while they drink is the best way to avoid a repeat.
Vinegar, baking soda, peroxide and more
Do home remedies work on kool-aid?
Plenty of home fixes get passed around for drink stains. Here's what holds up for Kool-Aid, and what to leave in the cupboard.
Works1Helps1Skip2Avoid2
What makes it worse
Mistakes to avoid
Don't rub the stain in
Rubbing pushes the dye deeper and spreads it onto clean fibers. Blot instead, and on carpet work solutions gently from the edges toward the center.
Don't use laundry detergent on carpet
Laundry detergents can contain optical brighteners that dye the fiber, and automatic dishwashing detergent may contain bleaching agents. Stick to the dish-detergent solution on carpet.
Don't use ammonia on silk or wool
Ammonia damages both fibers. If you must use it, dilute it with equal amounts of water and use it sparingly.
Don't reach for dishwasher detergent on carpet
Automatic dishwashing detergent can contain bleaching agents that may change the carpet's color. Mix a small amount of plain liquid dish detergent into lukewarm water instead, about a quarter teaspoon per cup.
Don't flood the carpet or upholstery
Too much liquid can make the fabric's finish migrate, and the result is a ring around the spot once it dries. Keep the solution on a white cloth and work in from the edges toward the center.
Don't make the carpet solution stronger than the label says
A stronger mix than directed is harder to rinse out. Leftover residue causes rapid re-soiling, so the spot picks up dirt again quickly.
When to call a professional
Call a carpet cleaner if the pink still shows after two gentle rounds, and tell them it's Kool-Aid, roughly how old the spill is, and which solutions you used. On a silk or wool garment, skip the home attempts and hand it to a professional early, since those fibers can't take the stronger products.
Questions
How do I get Kool-Aid out of a counter?
Blot up the spill with a dry white cloth first, then clean the spot with a little mild dish soap in warm water. Don't use vinegar on marble, limestone, travertine, granite or cement grout, since those can't take it. Test any cleaner on a hidden spot first, because counter finishes vary.
Can I use the same steps on a wood table?
Don't use oxygen bleach or spot remover on wood without testing first, because finishes vary. Blot the spill, then wipe with a barely damp cloth and dry the surface right away. Wiping and drying quickly keeps the wood from soaking up the color.
How do I get Kool-Aid out of a mattress?
Use as little liquid as you can, since overwetting upholstery can make the finish migrate and leave a circle. Blot the spot with a dry white cloth, and test any cleaner on a hidden corner first, since mattress fabrics vary.
How do I get cherry Kool-Aid out of carpet?
Cherry is treated the same way as red on carpet, so use the carpet approach above. Scrape up any solids first, and keep the scraping gentle so you don't spread the color.
Can you make Kool-Aid out of Jell-O mix?
Making a drink from gelatin mix is a different job, and the stain steps are for cleaning up spills rather than making drinks. If a spill has already happened, the steps above apply to any artificial fruit drink.
Will the stain come out completely?
A fresh spill on clothes often comes out fully with the steps above. Some artificial fruit drinks leave a faint tinge even after a full treatment, and old spills on carpet are the most likely to keep one.
How do I get Kool-Aid out of a white shirt?
Work through the steps above, since they work on white fabric. If a pink tinge remains after a full round, move on to the whites advice above.
Related
How we know this
Every method, amount and warning here comes from university extension services, industry bodies and product makers. We read them, check every step for unsafe combinations and changed amounts, and write it up so you can follow it.