How to remove mulled wine stains – proven methods and home remedies for cleaning clothes, sofas or carpets

It’s not uncommon to spill a glass or cup during the Christmas party and have to remove mulled wine stains afterwards. If this still happens on home textiles, carpets, upholstered furniture or favorite clothes, cleaning them might seem impossible at first glance. Luckily, these types of wine stains can be easily removed with simple but effective cleaning methods and tricks. Here are some common home remedies and hacks you can use at home.

What can remove stubborn mulled wine stains?

Mulled wine is a popular drink around the holidays. Heated and seasoned wine can be traced back to Roman times almost 2,000 years ago. However, it is also a dark drink that is alcoholic and popular for drinking with friends. This can lead to unwanted accidents with home furnishings such as sofas and carpets or clothing during the Christmas season. The trick with mulled wine or other wine stains is to dab as much of the spilled wine as quickly as possible.

It is preferable to use a paper towel when doing this. You should dab the wine splash gently and quickly, but not scrub it. This will help prevent the stain from spreading. One thing you absolutely must avoid is rubbing. Otherwise, this will cause the spilled wine to penetrate even deeper into the clothing or carpet fibers. This will make a stain even more stubborn and difficult to remove.

In addition, there are a few things you could do when you realize your mulled wine is everywhere but in your glass. First of all, of course, you should not panic. Even if red wine is all over your favorite shirt, you can still save it. The second thing you could do is try to get rid of the stain right away. It is well known that hard-to-clean red wine stains often happen when one is far too tired or distracted to worry about how to get rid of them properly or immediately. However, it’s in your best interest to address the stain promptly, which brings you to point three: use proven cleaning techniques. So instead of fretting about it, take a few deep breaths and follow a few simple but effective steps.

Also read: Post New Years Eve Cleaning Checklist to Get the House in Order Easily

What to do if a spill happens?

Everyone swears by their own cleaning tricks, but the most important thing in the event of a mulled wine accident is speed. The sooner you tackle the stain, the easier it will be to remove. However, it’s important not to scrub the floor! If you rub the stain firmly, you make it virtually impossible to get rid of it. Here’s what to do instead:

• Blot with a clean, damp cotton cloth to absorb excess liquid.
• Start from the edges to avoid spreading the stain.
• Sparkling water can help remove the stain, but use it sparingly. Some experts recommend using sparkling water on the affected areas. The idea is that the bubbles in the water will help push the stain out of the fabric. However, if you don’t have sparkling water at hand, you can use tap water.
• Diluted white vinegar is another useful cleaning product from your own household supplies.

How can you remove a dried mulled wine stain?

If the mulled wine has been spilled on the carpet for some time, you can use talcum powder. Apply this to the affected area and then cover it with some fresh paper towels. Wrap a large and heavy book in cling film and then place it on the paper towels. This needs to be left for 12 hours. If you’re lucky, the stuff will soak up the mulled wine and make it easier to remove afterwards. Here are some other remedies that can help with that:

• Boiling Water: Unlike dry heat, moist heat differs in its effectiveness on stains. In addition, hot water is a wonderful substance, especially when applied to other materials as a cleaning agent. It can thin and spread out the red wine a bit, but this also causes the molecules it contains, such as chromogens and tannins, to lose some cohesion with the fabric, which in turn makes cleaning easier. If this doesn’t work, you can try other methods.
• Applying milk to the fabric: Milk also has absorption properties. Therefore, you can try pouring a generous amount of milk on the stain, letting it sit for a few minutes, and then dabbing the area with a sponge or dry cloth.
• Treat dry wine stains with dish soap or hydrogen peroxide: Mix about 3 parts hydrogen peroxide and 1 part dish soap, then apply to the red wine stain. Let the cleaning solution work for a while.

If these methods and tricks don’t work, store-bought cleaning products can also be used. No matter how bad the wine stain looks, you can use them to remove it and make your carpet or sofa sparkling clean again. Commercial cleaning products not only offer long-term protection from stains, but they are also the first line of defense when it comes to fighting spills. This prevents spills from penetrating into the deeper fibers of the carpet and makes it easier to remove stubborn wine stains. Typically, you can safely use these around your family members and your pets, making mulled wine mishaps a breeze. In this way you can ease the cleaning process and focus on being the perfect party host.

Which home remedies remove mulled wine stains from a stained sofa or carpet

So you have a carpet stained with mulled wine or a “nice” splash of red wine on your couch. Apply a dry material that can make the red wine stand out. Like any liquid, red wine moves toward anything dry it comes in contact with. Right after a red wine stain, it’s best to take a dry, powdered material and apply it liberally to the affected area. This can be table salt, baking soda, a granulated form of hydrogen peroxide, dry soap, talcum powder or baby powder, or even cat litter.

Such dry materials will extract stain from the carpet, but just don’t start rubbing them in. Remember, never scrub the stain no matter what you put on it. Always use the blotting method, even when it comes to removing the salt or powder. As a best option, let the salt or any other dry, powdery material you use sit for a few minutes. In some cases, this can be enough to actually remove the stain completely, especially if you acted quickly enough. Otherwise, you may need to use additional methods.

DIY stain removers and cleaning tricks for fabrics and clothes

Older wine stains on clothing or fabric are often difficult to remove, so be prepared to try multiple times. Start with a cleaner you have available. It helps to know what can remove mulled wine stains and why they are so difficult to get rid of. Red wine contains tannins, natural substances found in plants like red grapes that can stain everything they touch, including absorbent fibers. Additionally, spilled wine can permanently stain clothing if the garment is placed in a dryer. For best results, try one of the following methods to remove as much pigment as possible before washing and drying. Here are the most common materials you can use for homemade cleaning solutions:

• Paper towels or clean kitchen towels
• Blunt plastic knife or credit card
• Kosher salt
• Soda
• white wine vinegar
• laundry detergent
• Dishwashing liquid
• hydrogen peroxide
• Commercial stain remover (optional)
• baking powder
• White Distilled Vinegar

How to remove fresh mulled wine stains from clothes

Begin by blotting the stain with a clean cloth or paper towel. Gently press and blot the wine without rubbing the stain. Scrubbing will only further set the stain in place. Once the stain is blotted, you can treat it with any of the following non-toxic household cleaning solutions.

• Kosher Salt: Sprinkle salt liberally on the stain. Kosher salt has larger, flatter grains than table salt, with more surface area for absorption. Then try leaving the salt on overnight so it can soak up as much of the wine pigment as possible.
• If the fabric of your clothing is tough, such as denim or heavy linen, you can clean the garment over a bowl so that the stain is centered. If necessary, fix the fabric with a rubber band. Then, carefully and slowly pour boiling water over the wine stain from a height of about 20cm so that the force of the water helps to push it out. When the stain is gone, you can wash the clothes as usual.
• Sparkling Water: Pour a generous amount of soda water over the mulled wine stain and again leave overnight. However, do not substitute it with other carbonated drinks. Although there is no solid scientific evidence for the effectiveness of sparkling water, many personal experiences insist that it works in such cases.
• White Vinegar and Laundry Detergent: This method can also be effective for getting red wine out of white clothing and other fabric items. Cover the stain completely with distilled white vinegar and as many drops of liquid detergent as needed. The vinegar will neutralize the red and purple pigments in the wine, while the detergent will help clean the fabric. Again, let the fabric sit overnight.
• Dish soap and hydrogen peroxide: As for the carpet and sofa method above, mix hydrogen peroxide and dish soap (3 parts peroxide to 1 part dish soap). As hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent, test a small amount of the solution in an inconspicuous area and leave on for 20 to 30 minutes. Wash the garment immediately or rinse in cold water.

How to remove mulled wine stains with baking soda

As previously mentioned, a dry ingredient like baking soda that you use on a fresh wine stain can extract the liquid out of the fabric. It should soak naturally, so you can spread a generous amount of baking soda on the stain and let it sit for some time to absorb the wine.

• Once the baking soda becomes damp or soggy with the wine, you can use a dull knife or the edge of a credit card to remove it.
• Then replace it with a generous portion of fresh, dry baking soda to further soak up the wine.
• Another method is to combine baking soda with white vinegar to treat the stain. The bubbling action of the baking soda and white vinegar can loosen the wine stain from the fibers. Then blot or rinse with cold water after the bubbling has stopped, repeating the cleaning process as needed.

How to remove older mulled wine stains

If you have a red wine stain that you didn’t treat right away, you might still be lucky enough to get rid of it or reduce it. However, you have to soak an old mulled wine stain in cold water for a long time for the cleaning process to be successful.

• Rub the stain with dishwashing liquid or detergent: Begin by rubbing a generous amount of liquid laundry detergent or dishwashing liquid onto the stained area.
• Next, soak the clothes in a bowl or bucket of cold water for 30 minutes or overnight.
• Apply a stain remover to the wet stain according to label directions and wash the garment on a normal washing cycle.

If your results are not satisfactory, try another of these cleaning techniques. Since wine stains are stubborn and fabrics vary in fiber type and permeability, multiple methods and repeated steps can prove more successful than just one attempt. After washing, do not machine dry your garment until the stain is gone or greatly reduced. Otherwise, after drying, such a stain will harden and may not fade.

Also read: How to Remove Coffee Stains?