“When it comes to red wine stain removal, the first and most important thing I want you to do is simple: blot it — but blot it correctly.”

After more than 55 years in the carpet and upholstery cleaning business, I have seen just about every type of red-wine accident you can imagine. I’ve seen small drips, overturned glasses and some very large spills. I’ve also seen what happens when homeowners try one of the many “miracle” red-wine remedies they have found on the internet.

The first thing to understand is that red wine is not simply a red-colored liquid. Different wines contain different combinations of coloring compounds, tannins, sugars and other components, and the way a particular wine reacts with a textile can vary considerably. The carpet fiber, rug fiber, upholstery fabric, dyes and construction can also make a difference.

So, what should you do if you spill red wine?

First: Blot — and Use the Right Material

Before you reach for any cleaning product, get the wine out of the textile.

I recommend clean, white paper towels with no printing or colored designs on them.

Why white?

Because some of the dyes used in colored paper products and decorative napkins can bleed when they become wet. I have seen some pretty nasty stains created when someone was trying to blot a simple water spill with a decorative red Christmas napkin.

You don’t want to replace one stain with another.

Blot gently at first

Take several clean white paper towels and begin blotting the spill as soon as possible.

At first, use very little pressure.

Your goal is to pick up the wine without pushing it farther into the surface of the carpet, rug or upholstery.

Then take more clean white paper towels and blot again, this time using a little more pressure. You are trying to remove some of the wine that has already penetrated into the fibers.

Next, use more clean white paper towels and apply considerably more pressure as you blot.

Remember: blot — never rub.

You want to absorb the wine, not spread it around or work it farther into the textile.

Keep repeating this process, using fresh paper towels each time. You may need to do it three or four times, gradually increasing the pressure, until you are no longer getting much additional red wine to transfer onto the paper towels.

That is the first stage.

Now Rinse — But Don’t Add Detergent

Once you have removed as much of the wine as you can through blotting, I recommend a simple rinse.

If you have club soda available, you can use it. If you don’t, lukewarm water is perfectly fine.

If using club soda, pour some into a clean cup. I prefer using a clean microfiber cloth. Dip the cloth into the club soda so that it becomes thoroughly wet, then blot the wine-affected area with the cloth.

Let it sit for about a minute, and then go back to your clean, dry white paper towels and blot again.

The purpose here is essentially to rinse and dilute what remains of the wine. The carbonation may provide a little additional help, but don’t expect the fizz to perform some kind of miracle. The important part is the rinsing and subsequent extraction.

If you don’t have club soda, use lukewarm water.

And at this point, I would not add detergent.

If you happen to have a portable extraction machine that can be used to rinse and extract the area, that can be helpful. Again, I would use it for rinsing and extraction rather than adding unnecessary cleaning chemicals, and be particularly careful not to over-wet upholstery or a rug.

Then let it dry.

Rugs and Upholstery Are Not Exactly the Same

A large volume of spilled wine can penetrate surprisingly deeply into a rug.

Upholstery can behave differently because of the way the fabric is constructed. The wine may spread more laterally through the weave rather than simply moving straight down.

For a rug, after you have thoroughly blotted and rinsed the affected area, there is another technique I have used successfully.

Place approximately ten layers of clean white paper towels directly over the area.

Then place a sheet of plastic wrap or aluminum foil over the paper towels. This creates a moisture barrier.

Place three or four heavy books on top.

And now comes the hard part:

Leave it alone for approximately 48 hours.

Don’t peek.

The reason is that you are taking advantage of capillary action. As the remaining moisture moves upward from the rug into the absorbent paper towels, the towels can continue pulling out wine that you may not have been able to remove through ordinary blotting.

You may be surprised at how much additional wine can still transfer into those paper towels.

After the 48 hours, remove the books and paper towels and allow the area to finish drying.

If there is still discoloration, that’s when I recommend calling a professional.

Tell the cleaner exactly what you did.

That information is important because the professional will know what has already been applied to the textile and will have a better idea of how to approach whatever remains.

What Does a Professional Do Differently?

When I arrive at a customer’s home to deal with a red-wine stain, my objective is different from what a homeowner can accomplish with paper towels.

The wine that remains in the textile has to be broken down and extracted.

Red wine can be a complicated stain. The coloring can come from compounds associated with the grape skins, while tannins, sugars and other components can contribute to the way the stain behaves. And because there are so many different red wines, there can be differences in how they respond to cleaning.

Rather than relying primarily on absorption, we use professional extraction equipment.

I have had very good results using an alkaline-based cleaning solution followed by an acidic textile rinse. Depending upon the situation, I may repeat this process several times.

What I am looking for is a gradual improvement.

The first treatment may remove one portion of the stain. The next treatment may remove more. With each successive extraction, the remaining discoloration can become lighter and lighter.

That’s one of the advantages of professional extraction equipment: our vacuum system is capable of extracting material from much deeper within the textile than you can simply blot from the surface with a paper towel.

What About Vinegar, White Wine, Salt and Other Home Remedies?

There are plenty of old remedies for red wine stains.

You’ve probably heard some of them:

Pour white wine on it.

Use vinegar.

Cover it with salt.

There may be a little truth behind why some of these remedies have appeared over the years, but that doesn’t mean I recommend experimenting with them on a valuable carpet, rug or upholstered piece.

The problem is that you don’t always know what else you may be introducing into the textile — or what effect that substance may have on the dyes, fibers or future professional cleaning.

The same applies to products such as hydrogen peroxide and oxygen-based stain removers such as OxiClean.

These products can sometimes remove or alter color, and their effect depends upon the particular fiber, dyes, concentration and exposure time. On the wrong textile, you can end up with a color-loss problem rather than simply a red-wine problem.

That’s something homeowners often don’t realize:

Removing the red color doesn’t necessarily mean you successfully removed the stain.

If you remove some of the original color of the rug or fabric along with the wine, you’ve simply created another problem.

This is one reason I don’t recommend turning your living room into a chemistry laboratory after a wine spill.

An Ounce of Prevention Can Go a Long Way

I learned this lesson in my own home.

We once had a large gathering with perhaps 20 or 30 people. It was a special occasion, and, yes, there was quite a bit of red wine being served.

At some point, someone accidentally hit a wine glass and spilled a large amount of red wine onto our white cotton sofa in the living room.

This wasn’t an everyday sofa. It was furniture we used when we had company and for more formal occasions.

Fortunately, when we purchased the furniture, I had the upholstery treated with a high-quality professional fabric protector.

So when the accident happened, I told everyone:

“Just leave it alone. I can take care of it.”

And I did.

The vast majority of the wine was sitting right on top of the protected fabric rather than immediately penetrating into it.

I lightly blotted it with clean, dry white paper towels. I changed to fresh paper towels and continued blotting.

That alone removed what I would estimate was 80 to 90 percent of the wine.

Then I took clean paper towels, wet them with lukewarm water and squeezed out the excess moisture. Since I was working on upholstery rather than a rug, I wanted the towel wet — but certainly not dripping.

I gently blotted the remaining wine.

Then I went back to a clean, dry paper towel.

And that was it.

The red wine stain was gone.

That experience is one of the reasons I believe professional fabric protection can be worthwhile.

A good fabric protector doesn’t make upholstery invincible, and it certainly doesn’t mean that spills cannot happen. What it can do is give you valuable time and help prevent a liquid spill from immediately penetrating deeply into the fabric.

And there is a difference between having a fabric protector professionally selected and applied for a particular textile and simply spraying a generic product on furniture.

An ounce of prevention really can go a long way.

When Should You Stop and Call a Professional?

If you have a small fresh spill, careful blotting and rinsing may remove most or even all of it.

But if you’ve spilled a large amount of wine, if the wine has penetrated deeply, or if discoloration remains after you’ve carefully blotted and rinsed it, I recommend stopping there.

Don’t keep adding products.

Don’t keep scrubbing.

And don’t keep experimenting with one internet remedy after another.

Call a professional carpet and upholstery cleaner who understands textiles and cleaning chemistry.

And tell that cleaner exactly what happened and exactly what you have already done.

That can make a big difference.

One Last Piece of Advice From Alec

Think about it this way.

If you have a plumbing problem, you call a plumber.

If you have an electrical problem, you call an electrician.

So when you have a carpet, rug or upholstery problem, ask a professional carpet and upholstery cleaner.

Look for someone who has taken professional classes, earned certifications, continued their education and, most importantly, has years of hands-on experience working with different fibers, dyes, fabrics and cleaning methods.

When it comes to an expensive rug or piece of upholstery, I wouldn’t ask your mother — and I certainly wouldn’t ask your hairdresser.

There is a lot of advice on the internet.

Some of it is good.

Some of it is not.

And some of it can turn a stain that a professional might have been able to remove into permanent damage.

When red wine meets your carpet, rug or upholstery, remember the three most important words:

Blot. Don’t Rub.

And if there’s still a problem after you’ve done what you safely can, call a professional.

— Alec Houle
Alec’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning LLC
More than 55 years of experience in carpet, upholstery and rug cleaning