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Hosting a party with friends or family and sharing some social time is one of the best ways to de-stress. Over a hearty meal, the evening goes wonderfully well and the festivities begin in full swing. But then suddenly there’s drama. You’ve just spilled your glass of red wine and it’s all over your clothes and the tablecloth.
To make matters worse, you are dressed in white! In this kind of situation, I advise you to act quickly. There are 4 mistakes to avoid if you want to save your clothes.
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Mistake number 1: salt
I often hear about this grandma’s trick of putting salt on the stain and waiting for it to absorb the red wine. It is true that this is the most popular method for wine and oil stains. But I don’t recommend it, as it doesn’t always work. Especially since the crystals in the salt fix the red color of the wine and eat away at the fabric fibers of your clothes.
The best thing to do is to quickly take a sheet of paper towel and use it to dab the area where the wine spilled. It will absorb the liquid and the color at the same time. And the less red wine left in the fabric, the better the chance of getting rid of the stain.
Mistake number 2: hot water
I’ve also heard of hot water being the best ally for removing stains from clothing. And many people tend to believe that it is also able to remove red wine stains from textiles. But this is not a good idea. Hot water cooks the wine, which then becomes deeply embedded in the textile fibers. The best is to use sparkling water. Containing carbonic acid, the bubbles will dissolve the dyes and tannins in your clothes. However, you must be careful not to pour too much. Just a small amount will allow the bubbles to soak into the stain.
Mistake number 3: Putting the garment directly in the machine
After the glass of wine spills on the clothes, many people’s first instinct is to put them in the washing machine. But this is a huge mistake. The reason is that the stain will spread quickly and the chances of getting an indelible stain are high. Even a professional in textile fiber cleaning will not be able to do anything. It is then preferable, before putting the fabrics in the machine, to stain them. To do this, I recommend using a white paper towel. Dab the stain to absorb the wine and then pour sparkling water over it. If necessary, blot the liquid again using a paper towel. Only when this is done can you put it in the washing machine.
It’s important to note, though, that cleaning a red wine soaked cloth in the machine is difficult. For white linens, I recommend using bleach and cold wash. Once the cleaning is done, you will need to spin the clothes at 600 revolutions per minute so as not to damage the textile fibers.
Mistake number 4: Bleach
Bleach is an excellent detergent. But while it works on oil stains, it does not work on red wine stains on textiles. I recommend that you use Marseille soap instead. Gently rub the stained area before putting the fabric in the wash.
