We’ve all been there. You’re having a few drinks and someone spills red wine on your beige carpet. Nightmare.
Chances are, that’s just happened and you’re trying to find out how to remove red wine from your carpet…So let’s get straight to the solution.
How to Remove Red Wine Stains (Action Steps)
The rumors you heard were true…You can use white wine to remove a red wine stain from your carpet. Here’s how:
- Pour a small amount of white wine into the red wine stain
- Using a clean, slightly damp cloth, blot the stained area
- Blotting means dabbing gently, NO rubbing or scrubbing
- Allow the cloth to soak up as much of the stain as possible
- Rinse out the cloth in warm water and repeat the blotting process
- Continue this until the majority of the stain has gone
- Use a white cloth so you can easily see how much of the wine is still being absorbed
That should remove the bulk of the stain. For an improved result, head into the kitchen in search of some baking soda and follow the steps below.
Improved Red Wine Stain Removal
Mix 1 part baking soda to 3 parts water together to form a kind of paste and apply it to the stain. Allow it to dry then vacuum it up. You might be amazed at the results…
A good idea is to always have a high powered cordless vacuum cleaner to hand. That means you’ll be super quick to get to any spills.
Top Tip: Don’t let the person who spilled the drink do this procedure unsupervised!
Now we’ve cleared up the red wine stain, let’s look at some best practices and top tips for removal all kinds of stains in your home.
The 5 Top Tips for Best Stain Removal
Below you will find the 5 best tips for removing all kinds of stains. These can be from various, common accidents around the home such as spilling red wine on the sofa, dropping the pizza on your beige trainers, treading dirt onto your new carpet and even spilling nail polish on your furniture.
#1 Never Scrub
Scrubbing a stain will usually only make matters worse. When you make a spill, the substance may look like it’s sinking into the material but it’s not deeply ingrained yet.
If you rub and apply pressure, it’s like standing on the stain and grinding it in. It will make your job harder in the long run. It is very tempting to try and rub the stain, just try to resist the urge to do so.
Instead, use a soft, blotting action. That means very gently touch the stain with a cloth that will abosrb as much as possible without engraining it into the material any further.
#2 Check the Cupboards
Although there are expensive chemical solutions out there that do a good job, you can achieve great results using common household items. Baking soda, for example, when mixed with water will soak up stains very effectively – see red wine tip above.
Other items such as hair spray, glue, and dishwashing detergent are all useful allies against stains. And the best part is, they’re readily available in most people’s homes.
One of the most effective ways to reduce the impact of a spill is to act quickly. Knowing what common household items to use means you can act fast.
#3 Use a White Towel
Using a white towel or cloth is ideal because it means you can easily see how much of the stain is still being absorbed from the carpet, sofa, floor or whatever fabric the spill is on.
You keep going with the towel, blotting away until it’s not picking anymore of it up. Tea towels are usually a good choice because they are super absorbent and always on hand. Plus they’re not expensive so if you stain that it doesn’t really matter.
#4 Follow the Instructions
If you need to use a chemical based cleaning product, ensure you follow the instructions exactly. Failure to do so can make the stain worse or completely destroy the material the stain is on.
The chemicals in some of the cleaning products can be pretty harsh to fabrics, especially if left on for too long.
#5 Rinse Thoroughly
Let’s say you first try a more natural solution, such as using baking soda. It does a good job but you want to use a chemical solution after to really make sure the stain has been removed fully. You must be sure to thoroughly rinse out the baking soda or any other product used before you use the chemical solution.
This is necessary because the chemicals can cause unexpected reactions when mixed with other ingredients. It’s always better to be safe than sorry and you don’t want to make the problem worse.
If you are really too busy to clean your carpet or your home, you can hire professional cleaners to do the job for you. There are some good companies out there to make your life easier, so, why not give it a try?