Best hacks to clean red wine stains


Paint this picture in your head: you get home from a long day of work, and you want to enjoy a nice and refreshing glass of red wine. Then, an accident happens, and you spill the glass all over your couch or your shirt (or even your pants, it doesn’t matter). Yeah, it’s something that no one likes doing. Yet, we as humans are imperfect and, sometimes, we spill our drinks. The problem with something like red wine is it can stain very, very easily. So, what can you do to combat this situation? Well, let’s take a look at some possible solutions — and what to avoid doing, as well.

Whatever the case, act quickly

The last thing you want to do is allow the red wine to sink into whatever it is that it spilled onto. If you just let it sit there for hours on end, the chances of getting it out go from slim to none. However, at the same time, there’s something crucial that you need to avoid doing. Your first instinct will be to grab a towel and to scrub the red wine as hard as you can. Guess what? You’re going to immediately regret doing this. When you scrub down on the red wine, essentially what you’re doing is allowing it to soak even further into the couch, carpet, or other surface. So, instead, as soon as possible, grab some paper towels and begin to dab at the wine. What you’re trying to do is to soak up as much of it as you possibly can.

Best hacks to clean red wine stains

Use some sort of dry ingredient

Applying dry ingredients to try and soak up the red wine is one of your best options. What you’re looking for is stuff like table salt and baking soda, two ingredients that most everyone keeps in the house. With whichever you choose, apply the ingredient generously on the stain. However, once again, you want to avoid rubbing and scrubbing either the salt or baking soda in. After you have it applied, take some more paper towels and continue the dabbing method. Essentially, what you’re trying to do is pull the red wine off of the material it spilled on.

Go with Oxi cleaners

It’s always handy to have special cleaners in your house for accidents like this. After all, time is of the essence. So, it’s optimal if you have special cleaners on hand that you can grab right away. For fighting red wine stains, it’s tough to go wrong with Oxi cleaners. As with baking soda or plain paper towels, the method of cleaning is going to be identical. With your Oxi cleaner at the ready, apply it to the stained area. After allowing it to sit for roughly an hour, take some paper towels and dab the surface clean.

Best hacks to clean red wine stains

Don’t apply heat directly after the spill

Let’s just be honest here for a second, you’re almost doomed if you apply heat directly to the red wine after it’s spilled. The goal is to prevent the red wine from staying on the surface. So, this means you should never use a blow-dryer to try and get the job done. If you spilled the wine on your shirt, also avoid tossing it in the dryer right away.

Clearly, the best way to clean red wine stains is to prevent the red wine from spilling in the first place. Just be extra careful when you’re pouring and drinking the wine. Also, if you have furniture that you really don’t want to be ruined, don’t drink the wine near it!

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