We’ve all done it, either a mere drip from the bottle or the dog’s tail knocked over the entire glass! Red wine on a carpet is everyone’s worst nightmare, not least because it’s a waste of a good wine but it’s usually not your carpet! Is it time to bring in the professional carpet cleaners or can you save some £££ by a quick DIY carpet clean?
In the unlikely event that this does happen, fear not, the following steps will help save your carpet even if it didn’t save your wine!
Step 1 – Immediately try to blot up the spilt wine right away with a clean dry kitchen roll.
The longer you let red wine sit in your carpet, the harder it will be to get rid of the stain, so do yourself a big favour by acting fast! Blot the stain to pick up as much liquid as possible before it can set.
NEVER rub side to side, always use an up-and-down blotting motion. Rubbing will pick up some of the wine but force the rest deeper into the carpet fibres making it much harder to remove the stain. This will also spread the wine further out by spreading the liquid to the sides.
ALWAYS Work from the outside in, blotting the edges first and then moving to the centre. This will prevent the stain from getting any larger than it already is.
Step 2 – Apply some cold water and keep blotting.
Eventually it will become difficult to blot more of the wine out so once the kitchen paper towel is almost dry, try getting the stain wet again with a small amount of cold water. This helps dilute the wine left in the carpet. Continue blotting (not rubbing) until the carpet is dry again.
Step 3 – Pour salt over the stain while it’s still wet.
A good dabbing job will take most of the wine out of the carpet, but usually not all of it. To help remove the rest, try covering the stained spot with a generous portion of salt. The salt granules will gradually draw the moisture in the stain out of the carpet over the next few hours.
The salt will work by absorbing the stain’s moisture, however, this is much less effective when used on older dried stains. If your stain is getting dry, pour a little cold water on it first before adding the salt. You can also use a solution of 1 part baking soda to 3 parts water in place of dry salt if you don’t have any to hand.
Step 4 – Let the salt sit.
As it absorbs the wine, the salt will gradually turn pinkish. You’re ready to proceed when the stain seems almost completely dry. However, longer treatments aren’t going to make things worse, so if you have time to spare, feel free to let the salt sit overnight.
Step 5 – Discard the excess salt and vacuum the carpet thoroughly.
Use a vacuum to suck up the salt particles and get your carpet looking brand-new again. The stain should be gone or at least greatly reduced.
If a salty residue remains after the first vacuuming, just spray the area with a little cool water and vacuum again to restore its natural texture.
If all else fails…
If however your spill is not lifting or too old, contact us and we can arrange to visit and use our professional knowledge and deep steam clean process on this to bring your carpet back to its pre wine glory!
For more tips on how to look after your carpets and rugs, see our blog.
Simply Clean Team.
Because we are, The Professional Carpet Cleaners.
