Red Wine Carpet Stains: Step by Step Removal Guide

The holiday season is near, and that means planning parties, and trying to keep up with day-to-day life activities and wrap them up quickly to truly make some amazing memories. We all love hosting parties for our loved ones or sipping on a glass of red wine to unravel after a long day. However, all that cheer can quickly come to an end with something none of us want to happen- red wine carpet stains!

Red wine is one of the most feared stains on a carpet for a reason. It is merely because of it’s dark colour and highly acidic properties. However, if you know just the right way to clean them, your worry can be a thing of the past.

In this blog, we will cover everything there is to know about red wine carpet stains such as:

• What is the appearance of red wine on carpet, i.e, how to identify it?
• How to effectively remove red wine carpet stains from carpet
• Common mistakes to avoid when removing red wine stains from carpet
• Why treating red wine carpet stains by yourself can cause more damage to your carpet

Let’s begin!

Appearance of Red Wine Stains on Carpet

Attending a red wine stain immediately is the best thing to do. Carpet fabric is highly porous. This means that when liquid gets into the fibers of a carpet, they become immersed deep within the pores. Unlike other drinks, the colour of red wine is completely natural due to chromogens that are seen in many colourful plants that are used in dyes. Red wine also contains tannins, which are organic substances used in the production of ink.

Once the red wine spills and hits the carpet, it immediately begins to sink into the fibers, followed by it moving through the fibers pores wherever they can detect space. Red wine, like every liquid, moves in two directions- downward and outward.

Effective Ways to Remove Red Wine Stains

There are a number of options to remove red wine carpet stains. Here our experts provide you with some common household products that might do the trick!

1. Salt or baking soda

Materials that are dry or powdery like salt or baking soda can actually pull liquids out from fibers of the carpet. Making it an ideal method to remove red wine carpet stains.

• Start by blotting the red wine stain with a clean and dry cloth.
• Generously apply the salt or baking soda such that it covers the entire stain area on the carpet.
• Let the salt or baking soda settle.
• Finally, vacuum the area.

2. Club Soda

A cleaning solution that has been around as early as 1767 is Club soda!

• To remove a red wine stain with club soda, start by blotting as much of the stain possible with a clean and dry cloth.
• Next, pour club soda on the stain and blot again
• Now, pour more club soda on the stain spot and blot once more.
• Keep blotting until the stain is gone.

3. Dish Soap and White Vinegar

If you do not have any club soda available, then dish soap and white vinegar can get the job done. To do this:

• Start by blotting the stain as much as possible.
• Next , prepare a cleaning solution by adding one tablespoon of dishwashing hand soap and a tablespoon of vinegar to two cups of warm or lukewarm water.
• Ensure you use a white cloth to blot, so pigment from the cloth doesn’t get on your carpet.
• Keep pouring a small amount of solution to the stain and blot until the stain begins to vanish.

4. Hydrogen Peroxide

If you don’t have both club soda or white vinegar and detergent, a final resort to remove a red wine stain on carpet is hydrogen peroxide. Be careful though, as hydrogen peroxide can cause discolouration. So ensure you do a spot test on a small carpet area before proceeding. Once you have tested the carpet, and observe no damage is being done, follow the below steps to remove red wine stains on carpet:

• Begin by blotting the stain with a clean and dry cloth
• Combine 2 parts hydrogen peroxide to 1 part dishwashing soap and test this solution by applying it to a small, out-of-sight part of the carpet. Preferably the edges or backside.
• If no discolouration occurs, continue applying the stain to the red wine stain on the carpet.
• Blot and repeat this procedure until you no longer notice the stain.

Common Mistakes to Avoid when Removing Red Wine Stains from Carpet

• Avoid Using a Coloured Cloth When Blotting: A white coloured cloth always works best when blotting a stain. This is to ensure that colour does not transfer from the cloth to the carpet.
• Avoid Harshly Scrubbing At all Costs: The most common and damaging natural reaction is to get the stain off as fast as you can so an individual ends up scrubbing it. What this does is it causes abrasion to the carpet fibres, making them more prone to absorbing the dye into the pores and increasing the stain.
• Be Cautious When Using Stain Removal Products: The next biggest mistake people make is they try to use the first thing they find in their sink to remove the stain. Then when this doesn’t work, they use another product. The problem with this is it could end up bleaching the carpet or embedding the stain so deep into the carpet fibres that it becomes permanent.
• Blot One Step at a Time: First try blotting slowly and then take your time to decide if you should blot more. If the stain is vanishing, don’t over blot. This causes strain on the carpet fibres, leading to tearing.

Wise is He Who Knows When to Call the Professionals:

As an old saying goes “Don’t cry over spilled milk”. In a similar fashion we would like to state that “You don’t need to cry over spilled red wine”. While the above mentioned methods have been tried and tested in certain cases, there are some red wine carpet stains that are just too stubborn to remove and attempting to clean them yourself can ruin your beautiful carpet.

When everything else fails, and those stubborn red wine stains won’t budge, don’t hesitate to call in the My Fair Cleaning experts!

Have another type of stain you can’t identify? No worries, read our carpet stains blog here!

Ali September 22, 2021 Carpet Stains