Another Use for White Wine: Clean up Red Wine Spill

It’s one thing to not cry over spilled milk, but it’s an entirely different scenario to hold back tears when a full glass of red wine leaves its mark on your white carpet! What can you do to remove red wine stains from your carpet, area rugs or clothing?

The First Response

Take a clean cloth and dab the spill in an effort to get the excess wine up and out of the carpet or clothing fibers ASAP. Once you have the majority of the spill blotted up, next you can tackle the stains with a variety of wine stain weapons. For starters you can take your favorite carpet shampoo or clothing stain remover, and clean as you would if the wine stain were a bit of dirt on the carpet or clothing. Or you can go for a less conventional, but often times more successful approach and try one of these tried and true wine stain solutions.

A Host of Tried and True Stain Removers

Depending on what you have on hand, you can “MacGyver” a wine stain removal solution based on what you have available. An arsenal of everyday red wine stain removers include: hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, soda ash, vinegar, club soda, salt, white wine, and a must-have product called Wine Away.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda

When red wine hits a white shirt, table cloth or light colored carpet, try to blot up as much of the wine as possible and then spray hydrogen peroxide on the stain, followed by a hefty sprinkle of baking soda. Make sure that the peroxide and soda fully cover the stained area and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Then rinse with water and if it’s a shirt or table cloth pop it in the laundry as usual. This method and the product, “Wine Away” are my silver bullets for quickly and completely removing red wine stains.

White Wine for Red Wine Stains

When red wine is spilled onto your carpet or clothes, white wine can be your true companion. White wine will help neutralize red wine and will make it easier to lift the color off of your carpet or clothing. Simply pour white wine over the stained area and very gently blot the liquid up with a thick towel (be very careful not to rub as this will force the stain into the carpet or clothing fibers). If the stain is still visible, you can add salt or soda to continue lifting out pigment.

Club Soda and Wine Stains

Club soda can be poured on the stain and the carbonation will help to lift the stain from the carpet fibers while the salt acts as a buffer to keep the stain from setting.

Vinegar and Soap or Soda

Vinegar does a nice job of neutralizing the purple pigments and can be combined with the stain-fighting force of either soap or soda. I apply laundry soap or washing soda directly over the vinegar and give it a few minutes to soak in, then rinse and wash.

Salt for Wine Stains – Who Knew?

Salt can be poured on the spill to keep the wine from setting until you figure out which method of clean up you would like to go with.

Wine Away – Stain Remover

Wine Away has been tested and recommended by the Good Housekeeping Institute and is even endorsed by Gourmet magazine. It is truly a wine world wonder that every red wine lover should have stowed in their cleaning cabinet. I even keep their travel size in my suitcase, just in case.

There are several solid methods for removing red wine stains that have worked well in a pinch, see which one works well for you. Just remember, whatever you do, don’t let the spill sit for long before taking action, the longer it sits the more difficult it will be to lift the stain from your carpet or clothing.

Miele Vacuums Endorsed by the Wools of New Zealand

Miele Polaris Vacuum

Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets is teaming up with the Wools of New Zealand and Miele to promote wool-safe vacuums and is providing their with customers discount coupons.

One of the most important maintenance steps for wool carpet is vacuuming. Regular and thorough vacuuming, at least once a week, is recommended to maintain the beauty of wool carpets and rugs. To ensure proper vacuums are used, vacuums that will not damage fine carpeting a partnership was created between Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets, the Wools of New Zealand and Miele. Miele is a high-quality manufacturer of residential appliances including vacuum cleaners that are known the world over for exceptional performance and durability.

Miele is a German, family-owned and operated company that has been producing vacuums since 1927. Their experience and longevity shows in the products they make, which offer superior and safe cleaning for all types of flooring. Miele accommodates a wide variety of surface textures with multiple suction levels and attachments. A vacuum cleaner’s beater-bar brush can cause damage known as ”fuzzing” on loop-pile wools. Miele’s wool-safe vacuums offer a suction-only brush, an essential tool to safely clean and extend the life of wool carpets.

Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets and the Wools of New Zealand endorses four types of Miele vacuums from the company’s S4 and S5 series: Polaris, Neptune, Ariel and Pisces. Hemphill’s will confidently recommend these vacuums to their wool customers. In addition, Miele is offering exclusive vacuum coupons for Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets to give to customers purchasing wool carpets and rugs. The coupon allows customers to obtain up to $100 off the purchase of a new Miele Polaris, Neptune, Ariel or Pisces vacuum cleaner at any participating authorized Miele dealer. Visit www.mieleusa.com for dealer locations.

“This is a win-win partnership that was developed in response to retailers’ requests,” says Elise Demboski, executive director of Wools of New Zealand, North America. “When customers ask about vacuums, Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets wants to recommend a product they know is safe for use on wool. Miele is an extremely reputable company with vacuums that exceed the criteria for being wool safe.

Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets is one of the Wools of New Zealand’s Premier Partners which is a group of leading luxury showrooms supported with exclusive advantages that differentiate their business and offer terrific benefits to their customers.

Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets offers over 70 name brands of wool and nylon carpet, area rugs, wood floors and specialty floor products such as leather planks, premium vinyls and epoxy coatings.

Wools of New Zealand Premier Partner