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How to Remove Red Wine Stains on Your Carpet: A Simple Guide

December 18, 2022
How to Remove Red Wine Stains on Your Carpet A Simple Guide

Red wine stains are a little tricky to remove from a carpet. That’s especially true if it has gotten deeper into the fabric.

Lucky for you, we’re going to list down several ways you can get rid of these red blotches using common household solutions and commercial cleaners.

Later on, we’ll also share some valuable tips you can do when you’re treating the red wine stains from the carpet.

What are the best ways to remove red wine stains from your carpet?

What are the best ways to remove red wine stains from your carpet

Aside from commercial carpet cleaners, you can treat red wine stains on your carpet using various household items like salt, baking soda, white vinegar, and dish detergent.

Use salt

You can remove red wine stains on your carpet using a sprinkle of salt. Right after someone spills red wine onto the carpet, blot it out with a microfiber cloth or paper towel because it will absorb the surface liquid.

Don’t rub the wine stain because it can spread or worsen, making it harder to remove.

Next, sprinkle salt onto the smudge and wait for a few minutes to let it work its magic. The wet wine on the carpet should be left to dry.

After this, vacuum the scattered salt on the carpet and the ground.

Make a baking soda paste

Like salt, baking soda in the form of paste is an effective cleaner against red wine carpet marks. First, you must blot out the red wine with a clean rag or cloth to absorb the excess liquid before it gets a chance to soak through the carpet.

Pour cold water onto the red stain in proportion to its size. Doing this will make it less concentrated and easier to blot.

Keep on doing this until you see the stain dissolving or fading away.

Then you will need to combine 3 parts of baking soda and 1 part of water. The solution should be as thick as cake batter.

Now apply the baking soda paste generously to the red wine patch on your carpet. Let it sit for 20 minutes or so until it dries.

Finally, vacuum out the baking soda on the floor. Your carpet should have no wine odor and stain after this process.

Mix white vinegar and dish detergent

Another easy DIY natural cleaning solution for removing red wine stains is to use white vinegar and dish soap.

The first thing you have to do is dab the red wine stain as much as possible in order to dry it.

It’s very easy to make this solution: you’ll just need to mix a tablespoon of white vinegar, a tablespoon of dish soap, and two cups of warm water.

Note that you should use a white cloth rather than a colored one so its pigment won’t transfer onto the stained carpet. 

Now pour a small amount of the solution onto the stain and dab gently until it vanishes.

Apply hydrogen peroxide

We don’t recommend using hydrogen peroxide to remove red wine stains on your carpet unless you don’t have any other solution available. Although it is nontoxic, anti-mold, and antibacterial, this solution can discolor your carpet.

Testing the Hydrogen Peroxide Solution

If you don’t have any choice but to use hydrogen peroxide, you can test it first on a different rug or carpet. Do it in some part of the fabric that’s hardly seen by the occupants or guests.

For this, use a mixture of 2 parts of hydrogen peroxide to 1 part of dish detergent. If it doesn’t discolor the other part of the carpet, you’re good to go.

Using Hydrogen Peroxide

If your mind is set on using hydrogen peroxide to remove a wine stain, whether fresh or old, this is what you have to do:

Blot out the red wine on the carpet to make it as dry as possible. Apply the hydrogen peroxide solution to the stain.

Keep blotting out the liquid until it dissolves completely. And then let the carpet dry out on its own.

White Wine

Do you have a few bottles of white wine in your cellar? Great, you can also use it to remove red wine carpet stains!

Incredibly, white wine has an enzyme that neutralizes red wine particles and loosens them from the carpet.

To remove red wine stains using white wine, you only have to blot out the excess liquid from the red wine spill, pour a bit of white wine to dilute the stain, and blot it away until the stain disappears entirely.

Unfortunately, it’s only effective at removing fresh red wine stains, and you may still have to do additional cleaning. Older and deeper stains won’t likely be removed with this treatment.

Commercial Carpet Cleaners

Commercial Carpet Cleaners

If you lack the time in mixing natural cleaning ingredients or just prefer using a commercial cleaner to treat red wine stains, it’s good too. 

There are a lot of commercial carpet cleaners, but we suggest picking one that leans more on the gentle and natural side.

By choosing this type of red wine cleaner, you can prevent damage to your carpet and harm to your family’s and your pet’s health.

Always make sure to follow the directions of the cleaning product you are using.

What commercial carpet cleaner for red wine stains should I get? 

Just one example of a great commercial carpet cleaner is Wine Away. It can remove hard wine stains even from bright-colored carpets, table linen, and bedsheets.

This product has received favorable reviews on many websites like Good Housekeeping.

Another swift carpet stain remover sold at stores is the Chateau Spill. This is known to effectively remove red wine stains on the spot or as a pre-treatment. Also, it’s affordable!

Tips to Get Rid of Red Wine Stains Effectively

Tips to Get Rid of Red Wine Stains Effectively

Here are some useful tips so you can effectively get red wine stains out of your carpet:

Blot stains immediately

You’ll have a better chance at removing carpet stains if you dab them right after the moment they land on your carpet. Like with any other kind of stain, blot them out quickly with a clean absorbent cloth or rag.

Blot, Don’t Rub

When cleaning up a wine spill on a carpet, don’t rub it or push it in because the liquid will spread. Rather, touch or dab the spill with a cloth, letting the excess liquid be absorbed by the fabric. 

After applying a stain-removing solution, blot it again until the red wine stain fades away.

Use cold water only

To remove red wine stains, use only cold water to dilute the stain. Lift out the cold liquid before putting in your preferred stain-removing solution and patting it dry.

You shouldn’t use warm water because it will encourage the wine particles to stick to the carpet.

Test carpet stain removal techniques on a hidden area of your carpet

If you are using a commercial cleaner to remove a red wine carpet stain, especially one that contains powerful chemicals, it’s wise to test it first on an out-of-sight area of your carpet.

This will prevent you from accidentally smudging or discoloring the carpet. And this will help you decide whether you should go on with the cleaner or not.

Can really old red wine stains be permanently removed?

Sadly, red wine stains that have been sitting on the carpet for too long cannot be removed, as they may have already penetrated the carpet backing.

In this case, you could hire a professional carpet cleaner who will treat or reduce the appearance of the red wine stain, but it really depends on the extent of the stain.

Can I use shaving cream to remove red wine stains?

Can I use shaving cream to remove red wine stains

You can use shaving cream not just to remove any red wine stains but also other stains like food, coffee, and oil.

You just need to apply it to the affected area and let it sit for 30 minutes. After this, dab it out with a clean and dry cloth.

And to remove the shaving cream remains, combine a solution of white vinegar and water and spray the mixture on the carpet.

Can I use toothpaste to remove red wine stains?

Toothpaste is also a great pre-treating ingredient for red wine stains. Just apply a little of it before using baking soda paste or salt.

Let the solution sit for several minutes and vacuum the residues afterward.

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