Ideas for Cleaning Red Wine Stains

By Georgia Zoe Hill on June 3, 2015

Whether it is a get-together with close friends or out-of-town relatives or a special celebration party, if you are going to serve red wine, chances are it will end up on someone’s pants, dress or shirt, or maybe on your tablecloth, and even on your carpet or fabric chair.

To be prepared in case a red-wine-drop accident happens, following are some ideas on how to clean red wine stains. These ideas will not only help you remove the stains quickly and effectively but will also allow you to enjoy a glass of red wine without worrying if there will be a spillage or not.

Glass-of-Red-Wine-Spilled

Important Info

Red wine spills will become permanent stains if you don’t react immediately. The key to avoiding a red wine stain is to clean the red wine off of the fibers by diluting it and wicking it away as fast as you can. Scrubbing is therefore a big no-no.

It is important to treat a stain as soon as possible:

  • Pat stain with paper towels to absorb as much wine as possible.
  • Again, do not rub it.

To remove the remaining of the wine, below are some solutions you can apply. Getting the stain moisturized is the quickest and most effective way to break it up and avoid it from settling.

Salt or Club Soda

Spread salt/club soda liberally over the stain and let it dry. Once dried, wash it with cold water and a mild detergent. Although it may not be effective on all stains, it is a great solution to try first. Moreover, it makes the best solution to reduce the stain overnight allowing you to take better care of the stain the following morning, if needed.

Vinegar & Bicarb Soda

After absorbing as much of the wine spill as possible with paper towels, sprinkle a bit of bicarb soda onto the stain. The red stain will become a pale gray one. Use a clean cloth emerged in white vinegar to wipe the bicarb soda. Leave it to dry. If the first solution did not work, try this one.

Liquid Dish-Soap & Hydrogen Peroxide

Mix 3 parts of HP with 1 part mild dish soap. Apply the solution on the stain and let it sit for a while. If necessary, add more of it until the stain disappears. You do not need to rub or scrub. Just wait. This solution seems to combine a lifting affect and an agent that can break up the red colour in the wine effectively.

Hot Water Through the Fabric

This is one of the most surprising solution when it comes to getting rid of a red wine stain. It is amazing for clothing, tablecloths and basically anything sturdy that you can place over a bowl. Stretch the stained area over a bowl and pour boiling water over it. The stain will disappear before your eyes. Since tablecloths are commonly the ones that get stained the most, maybe next time you should try this first.

There you have it – few amazing, fast, easy and above all, effective ways to remove a red wine stain. So go on and enjoy a glass of red wine.