Settling down with a good book and a cup of coffee is a relaxing way to spend part of your day. Should some of your coffee end up on the pages of your book, it could result in brown-stained pages that might stick together. Act fast to remove coffee stains using supplies from home. Even if the stain is old, it's possible to remove it and restore your book's pages to a much better condition.

Measure 3/4 cup of white vinegar and 1/4 cup of water, and then mix them together in a bowl. Make sure the bowl is large enough for you to dunk the stained area of the book's pages in the water.

Take care not to keep liquids near your book when reading.

Soak the stained area in the vinegar solution long enough to saturate the pages but not so long that the liquid wicks further into the page than necessary.

  • Settling down with a good book and a cup of coffee is a relaxing way to spend part of your day.
  • Soak the stained area in the vinegar solution long enough to saturate the pages but not so long that the liquid wicks further into the page than necessary.
Paper towels serve as a wicking device to remove moisture from the book.

Remove the book from the vinegar solution and then lay it down on a clean towel. Blot the stained pages with white paper towels by placing the paper towels on top of and underneath the page and pressing together. Continue to blot, using fresh paper towels, until there's no further transfer of moisture onto the paper towels.

Prepare a solution of 1/3 cup of bleach and 2/3 cup of water, and use this to remove any remaining coffee stains. Apply the bleach solution with a toothbrush and lightly scrub the coffee-stained areas. Use paper towels to blot all moisture from the paper.

  • Remove the book from the vinegar solution and then lay it down on a clean towel.
  • Apply the bleach solution with a toothbrush and lightly scrub the coffee-stained areas.
A clothing iron dries wet paper.

Lay waxed paper between the pages that were cleaned and then iron each page with a clothing iron set on the low or medium setting. This will smooth out the pages, as well as dry them.

TIP

Preventive measures are always the best; keep drinks away from your books and papers.

WARNING

Supervise young children any time you use an iron.