Who knew that there were so many ways to deal with red wine stains? When we posted Removing Red Wine Stains – Take One which included the tips we knew, on the Wine Butler Facebook page, we had 18 comments and some new solutions. Our readers suggested…
- Spray with hairspray ( if you happen to still be using it)
- blot with white wine
- don’t try anything yourself and call in the professionals
- all-purpose cleaner, Wine-away, or baking soda – which cleans everything anyways!
One of our favourite entries said that we should avoid the problem altogether by drinking white wine only. (Ha!) One of our regular facebook fans told us that each red wine stain told a story – so let them live – they had a point.
For your records, we have embedded that Facebook conversation in this post so that you can refer to it during the holidays in case you have a red wine spill.
This great information came via The Courant but was originally written by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz is the Lifestyles Reporter for Chicago Tribune.
Almost as inevitable as the holiday party is that most dreaded dinner party casualty: spilled red wine.
Red stains, whether from wine or punch or magic marker, are the most difficult to remove, and the sugars in wine make the stain even more stubborn, said Steve Boorstein, who owned a high-end dry cleaning business for 16 years and now dispenses garment care advice as The Clothing Doctor .
How you treat a red wine stain depends on a host of factors, including the type of fabric and the color of the garment, but one key ingredient to success is consistent, Boorstein said: patience.
Boorstein, author of “The Ultimate Guide to Shopping and Caring for Clothing” (Boutique Books), suggested the following steps for removing a red wine stain from washable fabrics. (Take dry-clean-only garments to the dry cleaners.) The same process applies to white wine stains, which, though less visible, still stain because of the sugars.
- Degree of difficulty: A lot depends on the tenacity of the stain.
- Materials needed: Dry white cloth, salt, white vinegar, color-safe bleach
Act fast. It is best to tackle a wine stain when it is still fresh and wet.
- Blot the stain with a dry white cloth to keep it from spreading. Never rub a stain, because you can abrade the fabric or cause it to pill or thin or cause the threads to separate.
- Cover the stain in table salt. Let it stand 5 minutes. The stain should fade to pink as the salt soaks up the wine. Rinse with cool water.
- If the red wine hasn’t come out using the methods so far, create a diluted vinegar mixture — 50 percent white vinegar, 50 percent water — and blot that onto the stain. You can also use a product like Wine Away or any store-bought mildly acidic stain remover. Let it sit three-to-five minutes. (If the stained garment is colored, test the substance first on a hidden area to make sure it doesn’t affect the color.)
- Rinse or throw the item in the washer, using the warmest water the label allows. (Tip: Put the garment in a mesh lingerie bag to remind you not to automatically throw it in the dryer once the wash is finished; the high dryer heat will set a stain, so you want to inspect the garment to ensure the stain has come out before drying.)
- If the stain still hasn’t come out, pour boiling water through the stain or soak the garment in a tub of warm water and color-safe bleach (do a spot test for colored fabrics first) for 30 to 60 minutes.
The Wine Butler would like to remind all it’s customers, to always drink responsibly.