This is the follow-up to our guide on clothing stains. Here we cover three other places e-liquid ends up: carpet, leather or suede, and your teeth. The short version for every soft surface is the same: act fast, blot, and never scrub.
Why some e-liquid stains and some does not
The base ingredients of e-juice are VG, PG, flavorings and nicotine, and none of those usually leaves a permanent mark on fabric. Some liquids, though, carry a kind of resin that behaves like coffee, wine, chili or grape juice and will mark clothes, furniture and teeth.
Color is a useful warning sign. E-liquid ranges from fully clear through a faint blue tint and various yellows to dark yellow and light brown, and it gets darker as it steeps. We have had bottles turn molasses brown and sludgy after sitting too long. Liquid that has steeped that far is more likely to stain, so watch how long unused bottles sit and where you store them.
A worn-out coil is the other cause. Once the cotton scorches it goes black, and bits of it flake into the tank and turn clear or yellow juice brown. The liquid itself still tastes the same, but a burnt coil cannot carry the flavor, so burnt is mostly what you get. If that tank then leaks, the brown liquid will leave a mark. Changing the coil on time avoids both problems.
Carpet
Treat a carpet spill the way you would treat one on clothing, and get to it as soon as you can, whether a tank dripped or a whole bottle went over.
Blot first
- For a big spill, soak up what you can with a clean paper towel or washcloth.
- Wet a second clean washcloth with warm water until it is damp, not dripping. Cold water works against you because it helps the stain set.
- Press a clean part of the cloth onto the spot and lift. Repeat as often as needed, moving to a fresh section each time.
Do not scrub at any point. Rubbing pushes the liquid further down into the carpet fibers.
White vinegar and baking soda
When warm water alone is not enough, this household foaming cleaner is the next thing to try. Use white vinegar only, not any other kind.
- Wet the stained patch thoroughly with the vinegar, then scatter a little baking soda over it.
- The two start to fizz straight away. Leave them fizzing for a few minutes and watch the foam for color, which shows the juice is lifting.
- When the fizzing stops, sweep the foam off with a dry scrub brush using light strokes, about as hard as you would flick lint from a shoulder.
- A vacuum hose attachment can pick up leftover baking soda and moisture. Hold off on running the full vacuum cleaner across the spot until it has dried completely.
Skip the bleach and the laundry detergent
Bleach works on clothing stains, but on carpet and upholstery it can strip the color. On a white carpet it may lighten one patch so much that everything around it looks dull, which makes the spot stand out more than the stain did. Laundry detergent cleans well enough, yet it is very hard to rinse fully from carpet. The residue coats the fibers, dirt clings to it over time, and the patch becomes visible again.
Leather and suede
The steps below apply to a jacket as much as to a chair or couch.
- Blot the spill right away with a dry microfiber cloth. Microfiber is softer than a washcloth and will not scratch the leather.
- After you have lifted as much liquid as possible, dust the spot with talcum powder and leave it for a few hours.
- Blot again with a fresh microfiber cloth.
If a mark remains, stir a little dish detergent into distilled water. Dip part of a clean microfiber cloth in it and dab the leather. Then dampen another clean cloth with warm water, dab the soap away, pat dry with a third cloth and check the result.
Four stronger homemade cleaners
- Paste: a tablespoon of baking soda (not baking powder), ⅜ cup of distilled water, ½ teaspoon of white flour and ⅛ cup of sea salt, mixed together. Pick up a small amount on a clean microfiber cloth, dab it on a small part of the stain and wipe it off with another clean cloth. Repeat as needed.
- Vinegar and water: white vinegar and water in equal amounts.
- Vinegar and oil: one part vinegar to two parts linseed oil.
- Tartar and lemon: cream of tartar and lemon juice in equal parts.
With all four, dab and blot as you go and wipe the cleaner off within a few seconds; none of them should be left sitting on the surface. They can be used on suede too, but take care with the nap. A fabric brush or soft-bristled suede brush is worth having for after the stain is out.
Teeth
One of us had a particular juice discolor our teeth a while back. It was temporary and brushed off at home, but it was embarrassing in the meantime. Certain vapors and resins can leave a brown or yellow film on the front teeth as they are heated.
- Check your teeth when you start a new juice, and brush at least twice a day.
- The simplest fix is to stop using the juice that causes it.
- If you like the flavor, try the 0mg nicotine version of it, or look for a similar flavor from another brand.
- If you think the discoloration is permanent, at-home whitening kits and professional whitening exist. Talk to your dentist before starting either.