Good Merlot can be a real treat until it ends up on the carpet and then you have to remove dried red wine stains. In fact, getting out spilled red wine on clothing or home furnishings after drying can be a real challenge for many people. Wine is rich in pigments, tannins and other coloring agents that can leave stubborn marks on tablecloths, shirts or carpets. However, don't let your head down because there are some strategies that have proven to be effective in such cases. Try the following steps and methods with your household supplies if you want to tackle pesky old wine stains.
How can dried red wine stains be removed?
The color of wine comes from substances thatcontained in grapesand are known as chromogens. These are actually similar to the molecules used in dyes. In addition, red wine also contains naturally occurring tannins - substances that are sometimes used to make ink.
Luckily, a long-spilled glass of red wine doesn't necessarily have to turn into a permanent stain. Although this may seem impossible at first, using certain home cleaning techniques can be effective when you need to remove stains caused by old red wine. First, take some classic measures suitable for delicate home textiles.
Can you get a dry red wine stain out of carpets with salt?
The first thing you can do is soak the old stain in cold water. With the exception of salt or dry powder, almost any cleaning method can work on old and set-in wine stains. Most of the time, they may require additional soaking and repeated treatments, although you should be patient. Although fresh stains respond well to hot water after one of these treatments, you cannot remove dried red wine stains until you treat them with cold water. In addition, you can re-wet the stain on the carpet if necessary for a removal method such as the salt method, which requires a wet red wine stain.
- If you managed to catch your wine stain before it dried, that's good. However, if it has already dried, you should moisten it again with a little water.
- After applying cold water, you can again apply a large amount of salt generously to the area of the spilled red wine. Removing dried red wine stains from carpets is difficult, but salt offers a great way to do it. The salt molecules suck out the wet stain and pull out pigments and other discolorations next to it.
- Leave the salt on the carpet overnight. After a while it will start to turn pink - this means it is picking up the discoloration from the carpet. Then simply scoop up the salt and discard it by vacuuming up the remaining grains. The stain should be greatly reduced in size and intensity or completely disappeared. If necessary, repeat the cleaning process with the salt.
Use vinegar to remove dried red wine stains
Another home remedy that could be effective for old wine stains is distilled white vinegar. Because it neutralizes purples and reds, white wine vinegar is a good choice for removing red wine stains from clothing, but it can't do it alone. Therefore, after applying the acidic liquid to the wine stain, you should add a small amount of diluted dish soap. Continue dabbing and smearing the substance to make it work better on it. Otherwise, you can use the vinegar method on any textile using the following steps.
- First, combine 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 tablespoon dish soap, and 2 cups warm water in a large bowl. Make sure you only use white vinegar. Other options, such as apple cider vinegar, can discolor the fabric beneath the dried red wine stain and cause further damage.
- Now moisten the stain with the mixture and blot with a clean cloth, but do not scrub. This way you can treat the stained area gently and the mixture should be able to loosen the stain.
- Then use a second dry and clean rag or cloth to absorb the liquid as you continue blotting. You can use the wet and dry cloth alternately.
- When the stain is mostly removed, soak a third cloth in cold water and press firmly on the stain. This will further loosen and remove the wine.
- Continue doing this until the stain is completely gone.
Try cleaning method with dish soap and hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a mild bleaching agent, which is why it is not suitable for dark textiles. Bleach can discolor these and you should use this caution by testing the bleach on an inconspicuous area first. Otherwise, the combination of the two remedies is a good choice. Hydrogen peroxide is a very powerful cleaning agent and is great for removing old red wine stains.
- First, mix a small amount of dish soap with a generous squirt of hydrogen peroxide.
- Then dip the corner of a clean cloth or rag into the solution and apply it to the red wine stain. Gently blot it, which will allow the cleaning solution to penetrate the fibers better.
- Then let the mixture sit for a few minutes to loosen the red wine stain.
- You can next fill a spray bottle with a solution of cold water and dish soap and spray the entire treated area.
- Then blot the stain again with a dry towel.
- First, wipe the entire stain area with a new cloth that has been soaked in room temperature water.
- Finally, use a third rag or towel to blot to remove the liquid from the carpet or sofa.
Use boiling water to remove dried red wine stains
If the above methods like salt treatment didn't quite work or your home furnishings or clothing items need a little more cleaning, using hot water could solve the problem.
- Apply boiling water to the stain and blot well, as dry heat is very different from moist heat.
- Additionally, hot water can be an effective substance when you apply it to other materials as a cleaning agent.
- However, this method can cause an old red wine stain to thin and spread somewhat.
- However, the boiling water also causes the molecules in the red wine to lose some of their cohesion with the substance, which would make cleaning easier afterwards.
Treat old wine stains with milk
Using milk as a cleaning agent from your household supplies can also be effective on a stained fabric. Although this may seem like a somewhat strange cleaning method, milk has absorbent properties that can prove effective on such stains.
- So you can first try pouring milk generously on the wine stain.
- Then let the liquid soak in for a few minutes.
- Then use a sponge or dry rag to blot the treated area.
Could sparkling water remove dried red wine stains?
You can also try treating old wine stains with soda water, although again you'll want to combine this with white vinegar for it to work.
- The minerals added to sparkling water may make it a better alternative than still water.
- Sparkling water can actually help absorb and break down the red wine molecules.
- You can then more easily dab on the treated stains.
- You could even try other carbonated drinks in combination with distilled white vinegar to improve the results.
Last but not least, you should know that using white wine as an antidote to remove old red wine stains is not a particularly good idea. This is a common and supposedly effective trick, but using it could damage fabrics. White wine is not a cleaning agent and does not counteract the dyes in red wine. In fact, treating fabrics with it can cause the red wine stain to spread even further. Avoid such mistakes and don't waste valuable white wine on a red wine stain. Instead, try using the alternative methods described above.
