About Chocolate Stains

Dark. Rich. Aah ... when it comes to desserts, nothing tastes better than chocolate. Dark. Rich. Ooh ... when it comes to stains, nothing is harder to remove than chocolate. When faced with a smeared chocolate bar or a blob of chocolate ice cream on a shirt, many people are unsure what to do to treat the stain. While chocolate spilled on washable items is difficult, stained items that cannot be tossed into the washing machine -- like the living room carpet -- makes removing chocolate stains an even greater challenge.

Verify

Before attempting to remove any stains, check the care label to verify that the fabric is washable. If it can be laundered in the washing machine or by hand, the following procedure can be used. If the garment is dry clean only -- or if the label is missing and you're uncertain as to the fabric content -- don't risk damaging the item; send it to the dry cleaners.

Preparation

Allow the chocolate to dry completely until it is hardened; to speed this process, place the garment or tablecloth in the refrigerator. Use a blunt edge-such as a butter knife-to gently scrape as much of the chocolate from the surface as possible. If the chocolate begins to soften during this step, place the garment back into the refrigerator.

Reduce

Turn the faucet on until it is as hot as you can tolerate to touch. Turn the fabric and hold it under the faucet so that the hot water pours onto the backside of the stain, melting the chocolate. Hold it until the chocolate stain stops reducing.

Soak

While the fabric is still wet, rub dishwashing detergent over the stain. Allow the detergent to soak into the stain for 15 minutes. Place the garment in the sink -- or a bowl or pan -- and fill with cold water to soak. Every five minutes, rub the stain to remove more of the chocolate. When the stain appears to be loosened, rinse completely. If, after rinsing, there is still more chocolate on the garment, repeat the detergent, soak and rubbing steps.

Launder

Sometimes the oil from the cocoa butter in the chocolate can remain on the garment. Use a stain remover -- either spray or stick -- and launder the garment according the care label. After washing, check to make sure the stain is gone before placing it in the dryer; applying air heat to a stain will set it.

Non-washables

For chocolate stains on non-washable items like carpet, blot -- don't rub -- as much of the chocolate as possible. Place rubbing alcohol on the spot and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Use cold water and white paper towels -- or a white cloth towel -- to rinse the alcohol and blot the liquid. Rub dishwashing detergent onto the stain and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. Then rinse with cold water and blot again with a white paper towel or cloth towel.