Removing Green Tea Stains from Clothing, Tablecloths, and Other Linens

Green tea is a wonderful beverage, but unfortunately it can leave behind a nasty stain on your clothing, tablecloths, or cloth napkins. Green tea stains are typically quite hard to remove; however, it can be accomplished with a bit of patience. Go into your stain fighting battle knowing that you may have to use multiple treatments to have the stain permanently removed.

Fight Green Tea Stains with Immediate Intervention

Always do your best to ensure a stain doesn't take deep hold in your clothing by treating the stain as soon as possible. If you are in your own home when the staining occurs, this means immediately. Should your stain occur from a hot splash of green tea, versus a cold glass of tea this can mean the difference between a permanent stain and complete removal. This is because the hot water of a cup of tea can allow the stain to set up completely much the same way washing and drying a stain usually leads to a permanent problem. Fast treatment can prevent this from happening.

Fight Green Tea Stains with Baking Soda

If you have an isolated and small green tea stain on a cotton fabric, it is typically best to utilize baking soda as your first line of defense in stain removal. Attack your tea stain with baking soda as soon as possible. I typically cover the entire stain with a thin layer of baking soda and then sprinkle on water to scrub with, but it is recommend that you spot test baking soda on your fabric before treating a large section to ensure that no discoloration will occur.

Fight Green Tea Stains with Oxygen

If your green tea stain is persistent, then an oxygen bleach may be necessary to help remove or disguise the final traces of your stain. Any product that uses an oxygen action instead of chemicals such as ammonia will do. It may take multiple applications to eradicate the green tea stain, but it will eventually lift if it has not been allowed to sit too long. Using an oxygen bleach is preferable for many, including myself, because these products do not seem to affect the quality of linens in the same manner that a powerful dose of regular bleach will. Oxygen bleaches and cleaners are also a very good option if you have to clean and treat a large tea stain on a tablecloth or upholstered chair.

Fighting green tea stains is a tough battle, but it can be won. You may have to use a combination of immediate intervention with a couple of repeats of baking soda and oxygen bleach scrubbing before arriving at a complete clean, but the results will be worth it.

Sources:

Oxygen bleach: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-oxygen-cleaner.htm