We’ve all been there. You knock over a glass of red wine on your couch or rug. You knock over a glass of red wine on somebody else’s couch or rug. Someone hugs you and wine sloshes out of their glass onto your shirt. I have quite a few accounts of red wine spills, to the point where my in-laws would probably categorize “removal of red wine stains” as one my superpowers.
So, when you find yourself in this situation, how do you get the red wine out?
Move quickly
The most important thing to do is to act quickly. Locate white paper towels and begin blotting or dabbing the stain. DO NOT RUB. The goal is to absorb as much of the red wine into the paper towels as quickly as possible rather than into your carpet, shirt, etc. Use the whole roll of paper towels if necessary. DAB. DAB. DAB.
- Pro tips:
- Only use white paper towels. Any dye on the paper towels will transfer to the fabric and if you use dish towels, you’re just going to ruin those.
- If it’s a stain on an article of clothing, put a paper towel under and on top of the stain, so the liquid has somewhere to go on both sides of the material.
Treating the stain
Once you’ve absorbed as much as of the red wine as possible in the paper towels. Use cold tap water or carbonated water on the stain. Soak the stain and then repeat the bolting process with more paper towels. This should remove more of the red color from the stain.
The secret weapon
You might not be at home when this happens, but if you are I highly recommend stocking and reaching for your Chateau Spill Red Wine Stain Remover Spray. It works miracles. If you don’t have a bottle of this handy to spray on the stain, any non-bleach stain remover will work (Shout and OxiClean are great alternatives). Treat the stain with the remover and continue to add more water to rinse and remove the stain.
If it’s an article of clothing and you’re still seeing red, soak the clothing item with the stain remover in cold water and then rinse through the washing machine.
