Never has a glass of red wine been spilled on a carpet without an accompanying gasp or shriek of dismay. Whilst it can look bad, especially if you’ve got a cream, beige or white carpet, with the right steps and fast action, red wine spilled on a carpet doesn’t have to be the stuff of nightmares.
1. Don’t waste any time
Red wine can permanently stain a carpet, but you can prevent this from happening by treating the spillage as soon as it occurs. Even if you’re in the middle of hosting a dinner party, or you’re tired and want to go to bed, don’t put it off.
There are lots of myths and misconceptions about how to remove red wine from a carpet, so it’s really important to know what you’re doing. The wrong course of action could cause damage to the carpet, or make the stain become permanent, even if you do act quickly.
2. Blot the spillage
Your first job is to try to soak up as much of the red wine as possible from the carpet. A clean cloth or absorbent kitchen paper are ideal options. Gently but firmly place the cloth or paper onto the stain to let the moisture soak into it naturally.
You might be tempted to rub or scrub at the spillage, but this can make matters worse, and may spread the spillage further around the carpet and into it, so avoid this at all costs.
To help dissolve the stain, you can also add a very small amount of water to the spillage, and continue to blot. Make sure the water is cold and not hot. The tannins in red wine react better to cold water, making it easier to remove. Some people swear by using carbonated water, as the acidity in the water can be helpful for lifting out the stain from the carpet.
3. Home remedies
Red wine spilled on a carpet may seem like a disaster, but you don’t necessarily need to resort to strong chemicals and harsh cleaning techniques to wage war on the stain. In fact, there are actually a few home remedies you can try that people swear by for removing red wine from a carpet. The good thing is, many of us already have a lot of these remedies in our home and kitchen cupboards, so we won’t have to search far for help when vino spills occur.
4. Salt
Readily available and affordable, table salt (as opposed to rock salt) can be a friend when it comes to removing red wine from a carpet. After you’ve blotted the spillage, sprinkle some salt onto the stain, where the crystals will then absorb the remaining moisture and red colour. You’ll need to leave it for a few minutes, or even longer, to work, after which you can vacuum the salt crystals away.
5. White vinegar
Another tried-and-tested remedy for lifting red wine stains from a carpet is to use white vinegar. After you’ve blotted the carpet to remove as much moisture as possible, apply a small amount of white vinegar to the marked area. Allow it to absorb into the stain for around half an hour, before applying cold water to the stain to wash away the remains of the spillage.
If you don’t have any white vinegar in the cupboard, don’t be tempted to use other types of vinegar, such as malt, balsamic or apple cider vinegar. These won’t work, and could cause permanent marks in your carpet.
6. Baking soda
Baking soda has a multitude of uses in the home, not just for cooking, and helping to remove red wine from a carpet is just one of them. Mix three parts of baking soda with one part water to form a paste, and apply to the spillage. Once it has dried, you can then vacuum the paste off the carpet, and, hopefully, the red wine stain will have disappeared.
7. Hydrogen peroxide
Many people find that using hydrogen peroxide mixed with a little bit of soap and applied to red wine spills can work reliably to remove them. It’s probably one of the riskier home hacks, however, as hydrogen peroxide could bleach your carpet fabrics, so do proceed with caution. Mix three parts of hydrogen peroxide with one part soap to form a solution which you can then apply with a clean cloth to the red wine spillage. Let it settle for around half an hour, before blotting the stain with a damp cloth. For stubborn spills, you might need to repeat the process.
8. Shop-bought products
If you don’t feel confident using home hacks, there are a wide range of stain removers that you can buy that are designed to remove stains from carpets, including red wine stains.
Always ready the label to make sure the product is suitable for removing red wine spillages, and for using on your particular type of carpet fabric.
Be aware, that stain removers, whether they’re in liquid form or as sprays or foams may contain chemicals that could affect the colours in a carpet, or damage it, if they aren’t used correctly or are compatible. Residues from cleaning products can also be hard to remove from a carpet, which could attract further dirt and may cause you side-effects if you suffer from allergies or asthma.
9. Trust the experts
Trying to remove red wine from a carpet yourself is risky, and even if it does look like you’ve managed to remove it, there could still be small residues from the stain, or the cleaning solution you’ve used, left in the carpet.
To ensure you have complete peace of mind that the spillage has been removed fully and properly, it’s better to use a professional carpet cleaning company who will have plenty of experience in this area.
For example, at Carpet Bright UK, we use safe, natural cleaning solutions that can successfully remove red wine spillages from a carpet. Our powerful industrial steam carpet cleaning systems are designed to remove stains and residues, for clean, fresh and dependable results.
We appreciate how stressful it can be when red wine, or anything else for that matter, is spilled on a carpet, so why not take this anguish away by having a stain protector applied to your carpets? We offer premium stain protection that’s reliable and long-lasting, and works to repel stains so they can be easily wiped away, with no fuss or stress involved. Call now for further details.
