How To Get Blueberry Stains Out Of Clothes And Carpet? A Dependable Guide

What’s the only downside to fresh blueberries in the summer? Or that delicious blueberry tart?

The annoying blueberry juice stains on clothes, of course! No matter how much care you take, you inevitably end up spilling the accidental drop or two, making you stress-search on google for “how to get out blueberry juice stains” and desperately trying to scrub out the culprit stain. 

Take a deep breath, calm down. We’ve got you covered.

This article will give you the 101 on removing blueberry stains of all kinds from all kinds of surfaces. Whether it’s from your table cloth, from shirts, from wood or carpets – we have all the information you need in this crisis situation. 

Does Blueberry Juice Stain Clothing Permanently?

You might love the fresh purple color a clutch of blueberries give to a smoothie – but your clothes? Not so much.

Blueberries contain high amounts of a plant compound called anthocyanin which gives them their deep blue-purple color. 

And the bad news? 

This compound is extremely absorbent on most surfaces and can create a nasty stain immediately. 

Because the berries also contain some natural sugars, once the stain starts drying, you can expect it to turn yellow and leave a permanent mark. 

So cleaning a blueberry stain can be a demanding process. But not anymore with this bunch of tips and tricks.

Let’s get right into it. 

How To Remove Blueberry Juice Stains From Clothes?

Healthy as blueberries might be for you, they make for frustrating laundry days. So if you’re struggling to remove that spatter or smudge, follow these instructions – and save yourself a load of time and effort. 

The Lemon Juice Method 

1. Dab some fresh lemon juice right on the stain as soon as you spot it. 
2. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes as it starts to dry.
3. Rinse off the lemon juice, and check to see if the stain has lightened.
4. Wash the garment in warm soapy water.

The acid in the lemon juice works to break down the natural compounds from the blueberries. Quick and easy – the lemon juice trick works like a charm. 

The Vinegar Method (alternative to lemon juice)

1. Treat the stained area with some concentrated kitchen vinegar for 5-10 minutes. 
2. Once it dries, rinse off under running water. 
3. Apply detergent on the spot and gently scrub for a couple of minutes.
4. Launder the garment in a warm water cycle. 

How To Clean Blueberry Stains From Light Clothes?

Don’t you just hate it when you accidentally get that one super prominent smidgen of blueberry juice on your favorite white shirt? 

Fret not, there’s a way to fix it.

Bleach Out The Stain

1. Prepare a solution of cold water and a regular bleaching agent (like chlorine bleach or hydrogen peroxide). Dilute it according to how big or deep the stain is. 
2. Apply this mixture onto the stain and let it sit for 1-2 minutes. 
3. Rinse off with cold water.
4. Wash the clothes in a warm water cycle with detergent. 

This method is effective – but take care not to use it for dark fabrics. It works best on white clothes.

Also, the treatment time is crucial. Do not let the bleach solution sit on the fabric for more than two minutes – you might end up with a discolored (but blueberry-free) spot on your garment!

Putting Everyday Science To Use

As we said before, the color of the blueberry juice comes from the natural dye anthocyanin. This organic compound can be easily broken down with another organic compound – enzymes. 

Enzymes are natural amino acids that can attack the dye and cause it to disintegrate. 

How do you use that to your benefit? Enzyme-based stain removers.

Some popular examples are Puracy or Zout, which contain the enzyme pectinase that is capable of breaking down the dye from our blueberries. 

1. Dab out the liquid from the stain with some tissue paper.
2. Apply a small amount of the stain remover on the spot.
3. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes.
4. Wash the garment in warm water with regular detergent. 

And now for that unavoidable problem that arises the moment you start preparing a lovely batch of fresh-pressed blueberry juice:

How To Remove Those Blueberry Stains From The Carpet?

Getting stains out of carpets can be a tricky business because they’re not so easy to chuck in the laundry, or sometimes the stain is simply too heavy. 

So what do you do?

Approach the problem analytically. First, you will have to adopt some mechanical means. 

What do we mean by that?

Step 1: 

1. Dab away at the stain, and this is most important – WITHOUT letting it seep down further into the fabric. 
2. Lift and fold the individual strands if you need to, and make sure that you do not put any pressure onto the spot.
3. Remove as much of the blueberry juice as you can in this way.

Step 2: 

1. Spray some lemon juice or vinegar on the area, making sure to cover each and every strand properly.
2. Sponge on some liquid laundry or dishwashing soap.
3. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
4. Blot up the mixture with a clean cotton cloth or paper towel.
5. Repeat the detergent + blotting up the process till the stain completely disappears. 
6. Finally, scrub away gently at the spot with some warm water and allow all the water to get soaked up with a new paper towel.

For Light Colored Carpets:

Hydrogen peroxide to the rescue again!

Perform Step 2 from above, replacing lemon juice with some dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide. Since it is a bleaching agent, it works to remove the discoloration from the stain easily. 

Note: Make sure that you do a spot test for 2 minutes with the hydrogen peroxide on a small part of the carpet first. This is to check that the bleach solution does not cause any unnecessary damage to the fabric.

These two steps are ideal for getting out blueberry juice stains from thicker and heavier materials. So rest assured that they work on most types of wool, linen, and nylon rugs. 

And even on the couch!

Tips and tricks that you didn’t know about blueberry juice stain removal

We have put together a list of the best home recipes and hacks for easy stain removal and damage control. 

Trust us, these are the ‘berry’ best!

Notes to remember:

1. Treat the stain as soon as possible. It is ideal to handle it while the blueberry juice is still wet and pliable. If it begins to dry, the sugars in the juice tend to saturate and start becoming yellow. And you do NOT want to deal with that mess. 
2. Never use hot water directly onto the wet stain. This will cause it to leave an even deeper imprint and become nasty and permanent. So – cold water is your best friend. 

Hack: Use rubbing alcohol to get stains out of upholstery.

This trick works great for those types of fabrics that are relatively heavy but still delicate enough that stronger methods would damage them.

So perfect for upholstery!

What do you need?

• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 cup rubbing alcohol
• Liquid detergent
• Sponge or blotting paper

What to do?

1. Mix the vinegar and rubbing alcohol to prepare a treatment solution.
2. Blot out as much liquid from the stain as possible with the blotting paper.
3. Sponge on the treatment solution onto the spot till the area is flooded.
4. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. 
5. Repeat these steps till the stain lightens and eventually disappears.
6. Sponge off with cold water and a clean sponge. 

Hack: use ammonia for those stubborn stains

Sometimes, no matter what you do, some blueberry juice stains just refuse to budge. So you’ve got to switch your approach. We suggest using this recipe for those superb deep and strong stains. 

It is also effective on old stains which have dried out. So if you found one on your shirt or on the carpet or even the wooden dining table from the week before, don’t worry!

What you need?

• 1 tablespoon liquid detergent
• 1 tablespoon ammonia
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 cups cold water
• Kitchen paper 

What to do?

1. Like always, blot out the stain with some paper first.
2. Prepare a solution of 1 tablespoon ammonia in 2 cups of cold water.
3. Gently dab this onto the stained area.
4. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
5. Repeat until the spot disappears.
6. Finally, rinse off the fabric in a warm water cycle with some liquid detergent. 

To sum up: here’s the whole gamut of methods you can use to get those stubborn blueberry stains out of just about anything. 

• Lemon juice method
• Vinegar method
• Bleach method (chlorine, hydrogen peroxide)
• Enzyme-based stain removers
• Rubbing alcohol method 
• Ammonia method

This article should have armed you to deal with the nastiest of blueberry stains – no matter when and where you find them. 

So, enjoy the blueberry season without ever having to worry about those accidental spills or smudges!

Read here: How To Get Deodorant Stains Out Of Shirts