As is true with all the things we love in life, red wine consumption can come at a cost.
Like an otherwise dependable friend that suddenly - and shockingly! - betrays you, red wine will turn a perfect day into a Shakespearean tragedy with just a few spilled drops.
Depending on where those spilled drops land, panic can ensue. But hey, we've been there many times and made it out alive, and so can you if you follow our recommended red wine stain guidelines.
DON'T MAKE THESE COMMON MISTAKES AGAIN
Before we dive into what works, let's take a look at what doesn't. We live in a world of blogging and DIYers, and we know there are a lot of resources, guides and more that claim to have the best solution.
With so much varying information at our fingertips, how do we know what to believe and what to ignore? At Furniture Clinic, we find that many of our customers have encountered recommended solutions online that are simply not your best option, and we'd like to call out a few of those here:
- Hot water -it's understandable to mistakenly believe that hot water is your best hope, but red wine stains don't follow the same logic as some other common stains. In the case of red wine, hot water can result in the stain setting. Choose cold water instead.
- Salt -this is a commonly recommended, yet disastrous, solution. Only do this if you are committed to making that stain a part of your life forever, because salt will permanently set it.
- Rubbing the Stain Away -while we certainly appreciate an aggressive approach to stain removal, it's all too easy to get carried away when trying to eradicate a red wine stain completely. By rubbing a stain, you risk the stain setting into the hard-to-reach fibers of the material you're treating. Always remember to gently blot, and never rub.
DO HOUSEHOLD ITEMS WORK?
While we wish we could give a more definitive answer, this is one of those questions that truly has only one correct response: it depends.
We can, however, tell you the two main factors that can make or break a household item's likelihood of success - not including the quality of the product itself, which certainly impacts the end result!
- Time - this is one of the biggest indicators of whether you will successfully remove the stain completely. The key is to take action as soon as the stain happens, so don't spend too many of those precious moments cursing the world for your misfortune!
- Material - where the wine lands will not only define the stubbornness of the stain, but it will also determine your next steps for treating it. Don't fall into the common trap of assuming that one solution suits all, because red wine stains require a custom approach and adaptability.
DO YOU HAVE A RED WINE STAIN? ACT TODAY, AND PLAN FOR TOMORROW
If you have a fresh red wine stain, time is ticking to take the simpler route: spring into action by treating the stain immediately, and remember to blot - don't rub!
If you've let the stain linger and it's already dry, see if you have a household item that will get the job done, and more importantly, get the job done right.
In a perfect world, you will always have a professional stain removal solution on-hand. At Furniture Clinic, we don't claim to be perfect, but we do strive to make proactive decisions and ensure that we don't repeat the same mistake again. If you're like us, and you're here because you're out of options for removing that stubborn stain, do your future self a favor and invest in a solution that's tried and true.
Fortunately, you don't have to journey far to find that ideal solution! A red wine stain's greatest foe happens to be one of our favorite products, our Remove It! Red Wine, Curry and Drinks Stain Remover. A specialist product designed to gently and effectively remove red wine stains from the most stubborn surfaces, it removes the uncertainty that often complements the usage of random household items.
Whether you're fighting a red wine currently, or are simply preparing for the inevitable moment that you have one in the future, it's not too late to become a wine stain wizard. See the magic happen yourself by checking out our products online, and testing out the recommended steps we provided here.
Together, we can take down those stubborn wine stains once and for all.
