We’ve all been there with the inevitable red wine spills that turns into red wine stains. We watch it happen in slow motion as it unfolds in front of us with our eyes bulging in horror. It doesn’t matter when or where it occurs – you may have been a bit too comfortable and lethargic on the couch with a glass in-hand, or were a little too vigorous with the hand gestures while explaining a story. At the end of the day, it happens, but it doesn’t have to be a colossal tragedy.
There are a couple of things you could do when you realize your red wine is everywhere except in your glass. First, of course, is to panic. Don’t panic! Even if red wine is all over your favorite shirt, it can be saved!
The second thing you might do is to start trying to scrub the stain off, fail miserably, and walk off frustrated, leaving the stain for tomorrow. Don’t scrub and don’t procrastinate! We know, red wine stains often occur when we’re far too tired or distracted to worry about how to clean them up properly or immediately. But, it’s in your best interest to face the stain head on without delay, which brings us to our third point:
Employ a tried and true method to beat the stain before it gets you down. So instead of fretting over those red wine stains staring at you, take a few deep breaths and walk with us as we help you through the cleaning process.
Tip #1: Do NOT scrub the stain!
Scrubbing will help pull some of the red wine out, but actually negatively impacts the stain as it causes it to spread outward even more. And, if you’re applying too much pressure, you’re actually pushing more red wine down into the fabric. This is especially true if you’re dealing with a red wine stain on the couch or on the carpet.
Tip #2: Don’t wait too long
While it’s tedious to deal with a red wine stain immediately, we wouldn’t recommend waiting until the next day to take care of it. Red wine will sink and settle into those fibers the longer they’re there. Eventually, they’ll “set” and become more difficult to remove. Not forgetting, of course, that red wine is basically a dye waiting to happen.
Tip #3: Do NOT apply heat
The last thing you want is for the stain to dry, but even worse is if the stain dries when hot air is applied. Heat will actually change the chemical process the stain undergoes when it dries. If you apply heat, you can expect a permanent or nearly permanent stain. So, put the hair dryer down, and for goodness sake, don’t put any stained clothes in the dryer before you apply any pre-wash cleaning methods.
Tip #4: Apply a dry material that will “lift” the red wine out
Like any liquid, red wine will move toward anything dry that it comes into contact with. Your best move right after you get a red wine stain is to grab a dry, powdery material and apply it generously on the red wine stain. These include:
Table salt
Baking soda
Sodium percarbonate, a.k.a. a granulated form of hydrogen peroxide
Dry soap powder
Talcum powder, which is used for baby powder
Kitty litter
These dry materials will “pull” the red wine out of the carpet, but don’t just start rubbing them in. Remember, you never want to rub (or scrub) the stain, regardless of what you’ve applied to it. Always apply the blotting method, even when it comes to cleaning up the salt or powder.
Let the salt (your best option), or any other dry, powdery material you use, settle for a few minutes. In some cases, this may be enough to actually remove the stain completely, especially if you acted fast enough. Otherwise, you may need to apply additional methods.