How to Remove Red Wine Stains From Fabric

There are some stains you hardly have to worry about right away and then there are those that need to be taken care of right away. Red wine stains would be in the latter category. From painstakingly washing the fabric by hand to simply tossing it into the washing machine, effective methods are available for getting rid of those dreadful red wine stains.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Landry detergent, laundry pretreatment or dish soap
• Clean sponge
• Washing machine
• Paper towels
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Towel or washcloth

1. Blot the stain immediately with paper towels. If it is a dry clean only garment do not pretreat the stain and get it as fast as you can to the cleaners. Pretreatment of the stain can cause irreversible damage and the dry cleaner may not be able to remove the stain.

2. Combine 1 teaspoon laundry soap or pretreatment (or dish soap, like Dawn) and 1 cup hydrogen peroxide in a small bowl. Soak a clean sponge in the mixture, squeeze it halfway dry, then gently blot the stain.

3. Place a dry towel or washcloth between the front and back of the garment if the stain has not penetrated through to the back of the fabric. This will prevent staining on the back of the material.

4. Review the washing instructions on the label of the fabric. Heed any special care instructions.

5. Wash in cool water and air dry if the fabric is machine-washable.

6. Wash gently in the sink with a mild detergent if the fabric is hand-wash only.

Tips & Warnings

• Always use white paper towels, as colored towels may stain.
• Avoid scrubbing or rubbing the stain excessively. This can cause the stain to further penetrate the fabric.

[cory72]

on 10/22/2008 A solution I've long used for a red wine spill is to douse it in white wine and then sponge up with paper towel (don't rub, just sponge).
It's a waste of good white wine and paper towel, but this method has got rid of a LOT of red wine dots and spillages on my cream carpet over the years.
I normally have an old bottle of opened white in the fridge just in case.
Not sure about longer soaked in stains though. This Spray'N Wash sounds worth a try.

on 8/8/2006 Believe it or not, Spray 'N Wash Dual Power pre-treatment just removed red wine from white pants that had almost 2 weeks to set in. I just doused the stained area with the the Spray 'N Wash Dual Power, and let it sit while I was watching a 1 hour TV show. By the time I checked on my pants, the red wine was completely gone. I then just washed them in a normal cycle (didn't even use bleach) and my white pants now look as good as the day I bought them!

on 2/20/2006 I once spilled a glass of dark red wine on my nightstand all over my clothes, the carpet, sheets, mattress cover and into the mattress. It was a disaster but i got every speck of it out after looking online.

1) Get it out as soon as possible
2) Blot up the excess
3) Use salt, lots of salt to soak up the wine.
4) Use super hot water and laundry detergent, such as Tide.

The combination of hot water, salt and laundry detergent will get out even the worst red wine stains if you act quickly. I wouldn't have believed it if I had not seen it myself.

on 11/22/2005 Milk will remove any type of fruit juice stain, even wine. Blot the area to remove excess wine. Then pour on the milk. If it's on carpet, I usually blot the area with milk, but you will literally see the stain start to disappear. If it's on clothing, I just pour some on and let it sit in the sink for about ten minutes. Sometimes I have to put more on, but it always comes out. I have tried peroxide, but it can bleach carpet or clothing. With milk I don't have to worry about that. On carpets I use any type of rug cleaner to remove any milk residue, then rinse with warm water two or three times. Then I fluff the area with a towel (this helps raise the carpet fibers back up). Wet carpet fibers, when pressed down, stay that way when dry and gives your carpet that matted, yucky look.

on 11/22/2005 I put one part hydrogen peroxide with one part Dawn dish detergent in a spray bottle. I've used this mixture on red wine stains on a jute rug, on a light colored couch, and even on white shirts! I use a soft laundry brush to scrub the solution so that it suds up and I wait about 5 or 10 minutes, or longer, or I spray again once the suds go down. Don't let it dry out on your clothes, though. Wash it soon after you do it, or on furniture, blot dry with paper towels. It is fool proof and as far as I know, and it will not stain the fabric (although you should test it first to be safe).