Avoid pesky stains with tips and tricks on how to keep red wine from staining!
Hosting a dinner party in your home starts with who will you invite and typically lead to the conversation on which wine to drink. You’ve decided to make it a Spanish Tapas night, so nothing better than a hefty Rioja to pair with Tapas. Your guests have already arrived and you’re all enjoying wine and tapas.
It’s a fun night, no worries right?
Until it happens. You’re talking to John about flights and he does the hand motion of lifting off, as you realize he’s about to knock over a glass of Rioja and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Those seconds are dreaded and John tries to catch the glass before it hits the white carpet, making it spill to even greater distances. It’s done and you smile. You can’t really start yelling about how that stain is never going to come out and how you just had the carpet installed 2 weeks ago.
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Be patient and calm! Simply take a deep breath and follow the next steps:
- Keep the stain wet. A dry stain is always much harder to remove, so first of all blot all of the wine with a wet towel. Water, Club Soda or even White Wine will keep the stain wet.
- Good Housekeeping recommends to “Use plain water or mix one tablespoon of liquid hand dish washing detergent and one tablespoon of white vinegar with two cups of warm water.” Using dish washing soap is a good idea because it has stain fighting powders that will help you remove a new stain.
- Another great stain fighter is dabbing the stain with hydrogen peroxide and water. You can buy hydrogen peroxide at your local pharmacy and keep it around the house in case of spills or stains. It removes wine from carpets and many other surfaces. Make sure to never use it on silk.
- Blot, Blot, Blot! Using a thick towel or sponge, keep blotting until you start seeing the stain improving.
- If by now the stain still hasn’t come out use White Wizard, a powerful stain remover that will take what’s left of the stain and make it disappear! Without the use of water, rub it on the stain and it’s magically removed! This non-toxic, biodegradable and non-abrasive formula is safe for homes with small children and pets.
- Make sure to remove the most amount of wine from the stain that day. After the days pass, the stain will set in and rarely comes out as easily. To make sure not to leave a water mark, blow dry with cool air until the water dries.
Remember, the most important step in removing wine stains is to catch them early! Keeping the stain wet will prevent it from setting in and using a commercial stain remover will tidy up the great job you did of blotting with the dish detergent or hydrogen peroxide.
Cheers and happy drinking!
References:
Red Wine Removal:Stain Removal Methods
Good Housekeeping: Stain Buster — Wine, Red