First few minutes
Just happened? Do this first
- Blot the excess, then rinse in cool water right away.
- Treat spills even if you can't see them.
- Blot, don't rub.
- Keep the item out of the dryer until the stain is gone.
Soda on clothes is a double problem, because the dark color and the sugar both soak into fibers quickly. Patterned fabric hides a spill well, so many marks are only spotted after they've dried and may only fade rather than vanish. A fresh spill often lifts with cool water and detergent, but whether it's washable, dry-clean only or silk and wool decides how much bleach is safe.
Keep hot water away from a coke stain on clothes, since heat sets the sugar into the fibers. Work an enzyme laundry pretreater into the spot and let it sit before the wash, especially on a white shirt. The same approach works for Pepsi stains on clothes too, so you don't need a separate plan for every drink.
7 items
What you'll need
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- Cool waterLifts the spot before heat can set it.
- Liquid laundry detergentPretreats the stain and goes into the vinegar soak. (opens Amazon)
- White vinegarUsed in the soak. Plain white only. (opens Amazon)
- Rubbing alcoholFor the sponge step, on fabrics that pass the test. (opens Amazon)
- Oxygen bleachFor the wash, on fabrics that can take it. (opens Amazon)
- Chlorine bleachFinal wash on white cotton and linen, always diluted. (opens Amazon)
- Clean white clothFor blotting, so the stain does not spread. (opens Amazon)
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6 steps
How to get soda out of clothes
Step 1 of 6
Rinse the spot with cool water
Blot up any liquid you can, then rinse the stain from the back of the fabric with cool water so you push it out rather than further in. If you can't rinse right away, soak the item in cool water for about 30 minutes.
Tip. Work from the outside of the spot toward the middle so the stain doesn't spread.
Step 2 of 6
Pretreat with liquid laundry detergent
Rub liquid laundry detergent into the spot, or make a paste of granular detergent and water and work that in. A prewash stain remover works just as well if you have one. Let it sit on the spot before the wash.
Tip. Use your fingertips, not a brush, especially on delicate fabric.
Step 3 of 6
Wash in oxygen bleach
Wash the item in the warmest water the care label allows, with oxygen bleach added to the detergent if the fabric can take it. If the fabric can't take oxygen bleach, or the label is missing, wash with detergent and cool water only.
Step 4 of 615 minutes
Soak in the vinegar mixture
If the stain is still there after washing, mix 1 quart warm water with 1/2 teaspoon liquid detergent and 1 tablespoon white vinegar. Soak the item in it for 15 minutes, then rinse it thoroughly.
Tip. Stir the detergent into the water before you add the item so it mixes evenly.
Step 5 of 6
Sponge with rubbing alcohol
If a shadow remains, dab rubbing alcohol onto the spot with a clean white cloth, working from the outside in. Rinse thoroughly with cool water afterward, so no alcohol is left in the fabric.
Tip. Test the alcohol on a hidden seam first.
Careful. Don't use alcohol on acetate, triacetate, modacrylic or acrylic; it damages them.
Step 6 of 6
Finish with chlorine bleach
Once every trace of vinegar and alcohol is rinsed out, wash again, with chlorine bleach mixed as 1/2 cup in 2 cups of water and added about 5-6 minutes into the wash. Skip the chlorine on fabrics that can't take it, and use the oxygen wash instead.
Check the spot before the item goes in the dryer. If the stain remains, repeat the steps, since drying will set it.
If you'd rather buy than mix
Best products for soda
Look for a liquid laundry detergent with enzymes for pretreating, and an enzyme pretreater if the spot is still visible.
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 →Pick what it is on
Soda on every material
No match. Try the main search for anything else.
How to tell it's working
Each pass with the cloth should pull a little more color, and the rinse water should run clearer every time. Once the fabric looks even and the spot has no edge when you hold it up to light, the job is nearly done. If two full rounds leave the mark unchanged, the sugar has probably bonded to the fibers, so the dried-marks section is your next stop.
What changes for yours
Adjust for your fabric
Whites and white shirts
White cotton and linen can take the strongest treatment, so a soda mark on a white shirt is the easiest kind to beat. Keep the early steps to cool water, detergent and an oxygen-based pretreat, and save chlorine bleach for a last trace only if the label allows it.
When you reach the bleach, use half a cup in two cups of water and add it five or six minutes into the wash. Save it for the very end of the treatment, after every other product has had its own rinse.
Colors and denim
On a navy shirt or a pair of jeans, the dye can lift before the soda does, so restraint matters more than strength. Stick with detergent and the vinegar step, and use an oxygen booster only after you've confirmed the dye holds.
Before committing to any product, test a seam nobody sees and watch the white cloth for even a trace of color. If a trace appears, drop the oxygen product and go back to detergent alone, since that's gentler on the dye.
Silk, wool and delicates
Delicate fibers need a gentler first pass, so start with cool water and a soft blot and nothing stronger. Chlorine bleach is ruled out for silk, wool and spandex, which is why these fabrics need the most patience.
Work the mark from the outside in with a folded cloth, letting the water do the lifting over several light passes. If the color still hasn't moved, a dry cleaner can judge the fiber far better than any home product can.
Dry-clean-only items
Garments labeled dry-clean only are where home water steps are the wrong tool, so your job is mostly to contain the mark. Pat gently with a clean, dry cloth to soak up what's still wet, and keep it from spreading across the fabric.
Don't add detergent, vinegar or alcohol at home, since a product you can't fully rinse out may make the cleaner's job harder. Bring the piece in as soon as you can, and mention whether the drink had cream or milk in it, because that changes the approach.
Diet and zero-sugar colas
Diet Coke and Coke Zero are still dark soft drinks, so they stain the same way the regular kind does. The steps above work with no changes, from the cool rinse through the final check.
Because the spot can be hard to see, check the fabric in good light after the first rinse so you catch it early.
Old, dried or set-in stains
An old soda stain, one that sat for days before you treated it, usually needs the full routine repeated. Run the vinegar soak and the alcohol sponge again, testing the alcohol first on synthetic fabric. Then launder with a bleach that suits the fabric.
A dried stain has had time to settle into the fabric, so give the pretreat more time than you did the first time. Older beverage stains may respond to a laundry detergent containing enzymes, soaked on the spot and then laundered, if the fabric can take enzymes.
If the dryer already set the stain, expect it to be much harder, and it may not come out completely. If a faint shadow remains after two full rounds, stop, because harsher products risk the fabric before the stain is gone.
Vinegar, baking soda, peroxide and more
Do home remedies work on soda?
Several household remedies come up for soda stains, but only a few are worth using. Some of these fit soda stains well, while others only help in specific situations.
Works2Helps5Skip1
Chemical safety
Never mix these
Some products in this guide react dangerously with each other. Use them one at a time and rinse with water in between.
Chlorine bleach + Vinegar
Vinegar is an acid, and acid mixed with bleach gives off toxic chlorine gas.
Chlorine bleach + Oxygen bleach (OxiClean)
Both makers advise against combining them: OxiClean says not to mix it with chlorine bleach, and Clorox says the two bleaches cancel each other out.
Chlorine bleach + Hydrogen peroxide (3%)
Washington State's health department says bleach reacts with hydrogen peroxide, and Clorox says not to mix bleach with other household chemicals.
Oxygen bleach (OxiClean) + Vinegar
OxiClean's maker says it should not be mixed with household chemicals other than detergent in the wash.
If they mix by accident: Stop and add nothing else; leave the area for fresh air, open windows and keep children and pets away; call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 if anyone has trouble breathing.
What makes it worse
Mistakes to avoid
Don't pour undiluted bleach on the stain
Full-strength bleach can weaken the fabric so it tears or wears out sooner, so always dilute it first. Mix it into the wash water rather than pouring it straight onto the spot.
Don't use colored vinegar
Colored vinegar can leave its own stain, which is the last thing you need on a soda spot. Use plain white vinegar in the soak every time.
Don't over-soak the stain
Soaking longer than the recipe calls for, or using more vinegar than recommended, can cause yellow stains that can't be removed. Stop at 15 minutes and rinse.
Don't rub the soda in
Rubbing pushes sugar and color deeper between the threads and can spread the mark over a wider area. Blot with a clean white cloth, working from the outside edge toward the center.
Don't use alcohol on synthetic fabric
Rubbing alcohol damages acetate, triacetate, modacrylic and acrylic, so skip the alcohol step on those fabrics. Sponge with cool water instead and let the detergent do the work.
When to call a professional
A formal or embellished garment is worth handing over early, because a mistake at home can damage the trim as well as the fabric. Mention that it's soda and list the detergent, vinegar or alcohol you've already used, so the cleaner knows what not to repeat.
Questions
Does soda stain clothes?
Yes. Dark soft drinks are color plus sugar, and both can soak into fabric and leave a mark. Spills are easy to miss on patterned clothes, so treat any soda spill promptly with cool water.
Do root beer, orange and grape sodas need different treatment?
No. Root beer is a dark soft drink and follows the same steps. Orange, grape and other fruit sodas are soft drinks too, so the same cool rinse, pretreat and check before drying works for them.
Will soda come out of a white shirt?
Usually, if you treat it while it's fresh. White cotton and linen can take chlorine bleach in the final wash, diluted and added after every rinse. Check the shirt before it goes in the dryer.
Can soda stains come out of colored clothes?
Often, yes, but color is the risk. Test the steps on a hidden seam first, skip chlorine bleach on items that aren't colorfast, and use the oxygen wash only on colorfast fabric.
How soon should I treat a dark cola spill?
As soon as you can, because the longer it sits and dries, the harder it is to remove. Dark colas and similar drinks follow the same steps as other sodas.
Can I use these steps on carpet?
Carpet needs its own approach, and laundry detergent should never go on carpet. For the full process on carpet, see the Carpet & Rugs guide.
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.