Juice and squash combine sugar with bright dyes — especially blackcurrant and the lurid kids' colours — so they can stain fast and stay sticky. Act quickly and they usually lift well.
Blot up the spill at once with kitchen roll. The sugar makes it sticky, so the sooner you lift it the easier the colour comes with it.
- Clean white cloths / kitchen roll
- Washing-up liquid
- White vinegar
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Cool or lukewarm water
Step by step (carpet)
- Blot up all the liquid you can, working inwards.
- Mix a teaspoon of washing-up liquid and a tablespoon of white vinegar into 250ml of lukewarm water.
- Dab and blot gently, lifting the colour and the stickiness together.
- Rinse well by blotting with clean cool water — any sugar left behind will attract dirt later.
- Press dry with a towel and let it dry fully.
Strongly coloured squashes (blackcurrant especially) behave a bit like a dye, so a faint tint can linger even after the stickiness has gone.
By surface
🛋️ Sofas & upholstery
Check the cushion's cleaning code first: W or W/S means the method above is fine used sparingly; S means solvent-clean only, so leave that to a professional. Use less water than on carpet and blot, don't soak.
🧶 Wool & delicate rugs
Use cool water and a gentle touch — wool can ‘brown’ if over-wet and some rug dyes run. Test a hidden corner first, and for an antique, hand-knotted or silk rug, don't gamble — leave it to us.
🛏️ Mattresses
You can't rinse a mattress, so go light: blot, treat sparingly, then use bicarbonate of soda to absorb the rest. Never soak it — trapped moisture leads to mould and smells.
✅ Do
- Act fast and keep it cool
- Blot from the outside in
- Test on a hidden patch first
- Build up with several light passes
🚫 Don't
- Rub — it drives the stain deeper
- Use hot water on a fresh stain
- Use bleach or harsh spot removers
- Over-wet, especially a mattress or wool rug
Tried it and the fruit juice & squash mark is still there — or it's a wool rug, a mattress or something you'd hate to ruin? Don't keep scrubbing; that's how a stain turns permanent. We can often draw out what's left with professional hot-water extraction, and we'll tell you honestly what we expect to get up before we start. Watford family business, 25 years, fully insured — the quote's free.
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