How To Get Red Wine Out Of Your Carpet
How To Get Red Wine Out Of Your Carpet
Carpet and Cab Sav…hardly a match made in heaven. but when the inevitable spill happens, reach for these household items and say goodbye to red wine stains!
Five simple steps to get red wine stains out of your carpet.
Carpet and Cab Sav…hardly a match made in heaven. Carpet stains are due to happen, but when the inevitable spill happens, reach for these household items and say goodbye to red wine stains!
First of all, act fast! If you don’t clean up the spilt wine straight away it can soak right through to the carpet’s underlay and even the flooring underneath, staining that too. Dealing with an old wine stain? You might want to put your carpets in the hands of the experts, especially if you’re hoping to remove old wine stains in your new home or as part of an end-of-lease clean when you mustn’t leave any evidence of mishaps behind.
Remember to spot-test a less visible area of your carpet first. Carpets can vary and may not all react to stain removal in the same way.
Professional home cleaning services can give your carpets a better chance of being stain-free again, as the experts will have all the right tools and products to give them a deep clean.
Removing red wine on your carpet always starts with…
Step 1: Blot, don’t rub.
As soon as the Cab Sav hits the carpet, grab paper towels or a plain white cloth. The cloth must be white because you don’t want to risk transferring any dye from the cloth onto your carpet.
Pat the stain, don’t rub. Rubbing will just grind the stain deeper into the carpet.
Top tip: Pat the edges of the stain first and then the middle. This way you won’t push any of the liquid further out across the carpet.
Dilute and keep blotting
When the carpet starts to feel dry under your cloth, pour a small amount of cool water onto the stain, and blot it again with a white cloth or paper towel. This will lift even more of the wine out of your carpet and will dilute what’s left lurking in the carpet’s fibres.
Top tip: Don’t use hot water for red wine stain removal because heat sets the stain. For the same reason, you shouldn’t use a hairdryer to dry the carpet.
Next, check your kitchen cupboard and choose one of the following methods. You’re going to need either white vinegar or salt. Sorry, all you fancy foodies – balsamic, brown, or apple cider vinegar won’t work because they can stain fabrics too.
Vinegar: Mix the cleaning solution
Once you’ve blotted the wine stain (following Steps 1 and 2), mix two cups of warm (not hot) water with one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
Step 2: Dab with the vinegar & clean white cloth
Dampen a white cloth with your vinegar mixture and dab the stain. Have a dry white cloth handy so you can alternate between applying small amounts of the vinegar mixture with one cloth and blotting away the wine with the dry cloth.
Dab with a clean cloth & cold water
When the carpet stain has gone. use a new cloth and cold water to remove any excess mixture from the carpet, then use a dry white cloth to pat the area dry.
Step 3: Salt: Re-wet the area with cold water (if it has already dried)
The stained area should still be wet from all that blotting and diluting in Step 2, but if not, wet the area again with a small amount of cold water. The salt method only works if there’s moisture in the stain.
Step 4: Sprinkle & gently press the salt into the stain
Grab some everyday salt and sprinkle it all over the wet stain. It might seem an unlikely hero but salt actively draws moisture (and in this case wine) out of the carpet. Gently press the salt into the carpet then leave it for as long as you can, overnight if possible, but at least long enough for the area to dry.
Step 5: Remove the pink salt & vacuum
When the salt has had a few hours to work its magic, it’ll turn pink where it has absorbed the wine. Scoop as much up as possible and throw it away before vacuuming the carpet to get rid of any excess saltiness. The carpet should be looking much better by now, but if the salt has left it a bit stiff simply wet it again with cold water, let it dry and then vacuum.
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