How to remove red wine stains from clothes, carpets and upholstery!

Oh, the pleasure and pain of red wine! We love the way it tastes but hate dealing with the stains that come from inevitable spills. Why is it that our favourite white shirt, new cream carpet or light-coloured lounge seems to be the exact things that attract the most amount of wine stain ‘carnage’?

It’s actually the tannins in red wine which makes red wine stains notoriously difficult to remove.  So whenever you are removing red wine stains from your carpet, clothes or upholstery the most important thing to remember is to act as fast as you can before it sets. Here is a quick how-to guide to help:

Removing Red Wine from clothing

It’s always so frustrating discover you've got red wine stains over your favourite fashion items (And why does the universe always insist on it being when you’re wearing you favourite white clothes?!) But it doesn’t have to mean ‘goodbye’ if you start the stain removal process as soon as you notice the stains and follow these steps:

1. Begin by diluting the stain with cold water. Then work your dampened Stain Savvy Stain Stick over the stain into a lather and keep working until you see the colour fading.
2. You need to be a little more gentle with your delicate fabrics (to ensure you don’t overwork weaves) however Stain Savvy contains no bleaches or chemicals that would damage your precious items and are suitable to use on most fabrics.
3. Rinse your clothing once the stain has been removed
4. Then either cold hand wash or machine wash on delicate using your favourite Bon Savvy laundry Liquid and then dry as per care instructions.

Removing Red Wine from Carpets

All the fun doesn’t have to end in tears just because you've spilt your red wine on your carpet and now there’s a big angry red stain right where you were partying on down one moment before!

Start by first removing as much of the liquid as quickly as you can by blotting with either a clean white (or light coloured) cloth or paper towel from the outside of the stain toward the centre so you don’t spread the stain.

1. Then using your Stain Savvy Stain remover stick – start by wetting both the stain stick and the area with a small amount of water. Work the stick into the stain, gently massage till a lather appears.  Wet the end of an absorbent cloth and rub over the area. Review and if the stain is still visible repeat from the beginning. Working the wet stain stick into the stain and using a wet cloth to rub over. Blot away the lather with a clean dry cloth to remove as much moisture as possible. 
2. You want to work with as little water as possible to ensure you don’t stretch and damage the carpet and underlay. Let the carpet air dry and then vacuum to lift the carpet fibres. Voila!

Removing Red Wine from Upholstery

Light coloured furniture and red wine is never a match made in heaven. But they can at least be good friends, if you move fast and tackle any red wine spills as quickly as possible, following this simple guide:

Firstly, ask yourself if your covers are removable or machine washable covers? If they are, start by taking off the cover and head to your laundry. If not,  it’s ok you’re just going to work directly on the couch (without removing the cover) to get rid of the red wine stain. Again, speed is the key!

1. Dilute the stain with water and then rub liberally with your Stain Savvy stain stick until a lather forms. Work this through the stain – the stain will change colour from red to a light purple and then fade to a light blue before it disappears. 
2. If you’ve removed your cushion cover, then pop your machine onto the delicate cold wash cycle. We recommend you use Linen Savvy laundry liquid as it will help to remove any residual stains and will effectively yet gently wash your upholstery. Dry as per instructions.
3. If you’re working directly on your couch (because you haven’t been able to remove the cover) Blot away as much of the liquid with a clean absorbent (light coloured or white) cloth. Rinse the area with a clean damp cloth and then let air dry. Remember not to sit or put anything on the damp area until it dries.

Finally, and just a thought, but if you’re someone that's kind of prone to red wine clumsiness, maybe it's time to ask yourself whether white wine might need to be your preferred wine variety? 😊 Cheers xx