How to remove wine stains: A guide
We all love drinking wine, but let’s face it, spilling it all over yourself or the furniture is everyone’s worst nightmare. This is easy to do, especially after you may have had a few and are having too much of a good time! Notorious for being a tough stain to shift, here’s a few tips for getting different types of wine stains out of various materials.
Red wine stains in clothes
This is a common one! When you spill red wine on your clothes, especially if it is on a white shirt or expensive dress, it’s easy to panic!
However, if you follow these steps you should see a good result:
- Protect any layers or fabrics that are undeath by placing a cloth under the stained material. This is to ensure the stain does not spread.
- Soak up any red wine immediately by pressing a paper towel to the stain. Avoid rubbing, just blot the stain.
- Cover the stain with entirely with salt, and ensure you keep the stain damp until you have time to do this (for example, if you are out and unable to treat immediately). The salt should absorb the wine and aid in lifting the stain off your garment.
- Repeat soaking and blotting the stain until is if lifts
- Apply a commercial stain remover to the stain
- Launder as normal in your washing machine or hand wash depending on the washing instructions. Once dry, hopefully your stain will be gone!
Red wine in carpet
This can also be a nightmare situation, especially if you have a light-coloured carpet. Try following the below steps to lift a nasty red wine spillage stain out of your fresh carpet:
- Use a white cloth to blot as much of the stain as you can before applying any liquid to the stain. This will avoid the stain from spreading.
- Take a small bowl of warm water (2 cups) and mix in one tablespoon of white vinegar and one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid
- Use a sponge to apply the mixture to the wine stain on your carpet
- After blotting, the stain should begin to lift
You can also use the above method to remove wine stains from materials such as couch fabric. The key is to act fast and get blotting the wine off the stain immediately! Red wine especially is harder to lift once it dries so try and deal with the stain as soon as you notice it and you are likely to get a better result.
At Grand Cru Wine Fridges, we are passionate about great wine ending up in your mouth and not over your clothes.