Easy Tips for Cleaning Wine Stains from Your Rug

Easy Tips for Cleaning Wine Stains from Your Rug

It happens to the best of us; just when you thought your rug was safe, a careless guest, vindictive cat or moment of weakness, you knock over a glass of red wine onto your favorite rug. It's trash now. Right? Wrong! Red wine stains are notoriously hard to get out of most fabrics, and especially rugs, but with a little know-how, and the right supplies, you’ll be saying goodbye to that merlot mishap in no time. Read on and we’ll show you how to remove tough wine stains from your rug like a pro, cheers!

New Spills

Like with most stains, addressing them sooner, rather than later, is the best bet for getting them gone. Your first step with a wine stain is to blot out as much of the liquid from the carpet as you can with a white cloth, like a utility towel or old t-shirt. Soak up as much as possible so you’ll have less stain to deal with. Once you’re done blotting as much wine away as you can, pour some cold water directly onto the stain site. This will help dilute the remaining wine stain, and will make removing the rest of it a little easier.

Next, you’ll want to create a baking soda paste to apply to the wine stain. You do this by using a 1:3 ratio (for example, 1 tablespoon of water to 3 tablespoons of baking soda). Apply this paste directly to the stain site and let it dry. Once the paste is completely dry, vacuum up the stain and enjoy your beautiful rug again!

No baking soda? You can also use vinegar in a similar method to remove the wine stain. Blot the liquid completely out like before. Then create a mixture of 2 cups warm water, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, and 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid. Dip a rag or sponge into the mixture and blot onto the stain until the stain has completely lifted.

Old Spills

Discover a wine stain the next day? Not to worry, there are some easy-to-use home remedies to help you bring your rug bag to life. Start by wetting the wine stain with water, and then sprinkle a generous amount of salt on the area. The salt will help to suck the moisture out of a re-wetted stain, and will help to draw out discolorations and pigments from the carpet. Like with the baking soda method, leave the salt on overnight to dry and continue drawing out the old wine stain.

The next day, you should notice that the salt has taken on a pinkish hue. Vacuum up the remaining salt and enjoy the efforts of your labor! You should notice that the stain has drastically reduced, or is completely gone.

Got a really stubborn stain? Hydrogen peroxide can also be used to clean it up, but be warned; it’s a mild bleaching agent and may discolor the fibers of your carpet. A mixture of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap (equal parts of each, don’t use too much), and a gentle dabbing action will help release the old wine stain. Fill a water bottle with cool water, then spray the spot and dab with a dry cloth to reveal stain free rug fibers.

Don’t give up on a favored rug just because it’s covered in a little bit of vino; give some of these solutions a try and you’ll soon be saying “cheers!”

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