How to Clean Red Wine Stains

Yes, the dreaded wine stains on carpet or clothing can be cleaned. Feared by many, you will learn how to clean these stains. So, not a trace is left of the wine stain.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• wine stain on a surface(carpet, shirt etc.)
• hydrogen peroxide
• very absorbent towels or rags

1. First, is the wine stain old?(Please say new.) New red wine stains are so much easier to get rid of than old ones. Old stains aren't impossible, but more difficult.

2. Take a super absorbent towel or rag, fold it, lay it on the stained area and stand on it. Using your body weight really helps get the stain up. Plus, it keeps you from rubbing while you're soaking up the stain. Rubbing makes a stain larger. See, as you are standing, as the towel gets wet fold it over and place a dry side of the towel on the stain. Continue until your towel is soaked or the "stain" is not soaking the towel.

3. If it is a very recent stain and or large, you may need to get a second towel and repeat the standing on the towel step again.

4. Next, take an empty spray bottle. One, that's been used, but cleaned thoroughly. Make a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water. You should put three times the amount of water that you put in of hydrogen peroxide.
   Hydrogen peroxide is a mild bleaching agent. If you use too much, then you'll have no stain, but you might bleach your carpet.

5. Spray the area of carpet with the mixture. Leave on the carpet for 5 minutes. Then, take a towel or paper towels(the environment will forgive you) ;) Once again, stand on the towel or paper towels. If you see red, on the towel, that's a good sign. Keep doing it until you are tired or you have no stain. Even if you, stop and there's some stain left. Come back and check the area in thirty minutes. You may have no stain.

Tips & Warnings

• If the wine stain is old, just apply the same techniques, but wet the stain first with the hydrogen peroxide solution . Then use the "stand blot" method.
• If the stain is on clothing, rinse in water and what stain is left wash normally, but add 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide to wash.
• You may want to test the hydrogen peroxide mixture on your carpet in an inconspicuous area. Some carpet may be more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide than others. Some, less sensitive. So you can adjust your mixture accordingly. My experience has been that on new carpet this works wonders. On old stains and new stains. On older carpet, that's where you just don't know what will happen.

[starlet67]

on 4/8/2009 Great tips for red wine stains!5*

[dthere]

on 4/7/2009 Very good use of hydrogen peroxide...5