Coffee seeps in, white clothes change color

Coffee seeps in, white clothes change color

Coffee is a popular drink that not only has the effect of refreshing the mind, but also has a rich taste and unique aroma. However, when enjoying the deliciousness of coffee, we must also be careful. Because if coffee is accidentally spilled on white clothes, it is likely to cause the clothes to change color. Let's explore the principle behind this phenomenon.

1. Coffee Osmosis Mechanism

To understand why coffee penetrates into clothing and causes discoloration, you first need to understand the mechanism of liquid penetration. Liquids penetrate solid surfaces primarily through two forces: wetting force and capillary action.

Wetting force refers to the force of attraction between a liquid and a solid. When a liquid drop contacts a solid surface, if the wetting force is greater than the surface tension of the solid, it can completely wet the surface and spread into it.

Capillary action refers to the behavior of liquid in a small tube. When liquid enters a small tube, due to the effect of surface tension, the liquid rises inside the tube to form a column of a certain height.

2. Pigments in coffee

Coffee is rich in pigments, which are one of the main causes of clothing discoloration. The most common pigment components in coffee are caffeine and tannins.

Caffeine is a stimulant that is highly soluble in water. When coffee penetrates the gaps between clothing fibers, the caffeine it contains interacts with the fibers and causes them to change color.

Tannins have astringent and dye-fixing properties. They can form complexes with fibrous proteins and give them a pigment effect. When tannins penetrate into the fabric fibers, they bind to the fibrous proteins and change their original color.

3. Principle Analysis

Applying the above two mechanisms to the process of coffee penetrating into clothing, we can derive the following analysis:

When coffee drops on white clothes, due to the wetting force and capillary action, the coffee will quickly penetrate into the gaps between the fibers. At the same time, the pigment components contained in it - caffeine and tannins - will also enter the interior of the fibers.

Once these pigments interact with the fibers, they cause the color of the garment to change. Especially for white garments, there are no other pigments to mask the change. Therefore, it is often obvious that the color will darken or take on a brownish-yellow hue after coffee penetration.

4. Prevention and treatment

In order to avoid coffee penetration and discoloration of clothing, we can take some preventive measures in our daily life:

- Be careful when drinking coffee and try to avoid spilling it on yourself.

- If you accidentally spill coffee on white clothing, you should deal with it immediately. First, you can use absorbent paper towels or clean cloths to gently absorb the excess coffee liquid. Then you can soak the clothing in warm water and add an appropriate amount of laundry detergent to wash.

- If the discoloration is serious, you can try to use lemon juice or oxygen bleach for bleaching. However, you need to pay attention to the method and concentration of use to avoid damaging the clothes.

Conclusion

Coffee penetration causes discoloration of white clothes due to the interaction between the pigments in coffee and the fibers. Understanding the principles behind this phenomenon, we can better prevent and deal with this situation. While enjoying the delicious coffee, we must also remain vigilant and cautious.