Our tips for removing a wine stain!

Updated on December 14, 2022

The evening is beautiful, the wine is good, but an accident happens quickly: the glasses spill, the wine falls... and all on the tablecloth, on your dress or your shirt! Don't panic, it won't spoil your evening: Les Grappes offers you some tips to get rid of wine stains on fabrics!

To avoid

First of all, the coarse salt trick doesn't work: coarse salt doesn't absorb the liquid, and moreover it damages your laundry.
Secondly, don't put your clothes directly into the washing machine, as this could set the stain, so it's better to pre-wash them using the tips we give you. You can then put your clothes in the machine. The stains ofred winestains are one of the most difficult stains to remove from clothes, so it is important to get rid of them as soon as possible! This also applies to white wine, by cleaning the stain as soon as the wine is spilled you have a better chance of removing it.

For red wine

Here are a few grandma's tricks to get rid of freshly spilled red wine:

You can immerse the stained garment in cold water first, this prevents the stain from setting. Another tip is to first rub the stain dry with Marseille soap; then the garment can be washed in the washing machine at 40°C. It is also possible to remove stains with flour or talcum powder: sprinkle the stain with flour or talcum powder, let it dry and then brush it off. After rinsing, if there is still a mark of the stain, dab it with a cloth soaked in 70° alcohol. Other effective detergents against red wine are hot milk, vinegar or white wine, sparkling water with added rubbing alcohol. The hot milk should be dabbed on the stain, then it should be left for about an hour before rinsing.

If the stain is old, here are some other tips. White vinegar is still effective against this type of stain: soak the stain in warm water, then dab it with a cloth soaked in white vinegar. You can also proceed in the same way with a cloth soaked in the mixture of ½ glass of water, ¼ glass of white vinegar and ¼ glass of household alcohol. Finally, you can apply a paste of baking soda and lemon to the stain. Leave it on, scrub and rinse.

For white wine

The stains ofwhite wine stains are less difficult to remove, but we'll still give you some tips on how to get rid of them. Generally speaking, to clean your stain, start by soaking the garment in cold water. Then, add dishwashing liquid to the stain, rub it in and let it sit for a few minutes. You can then machine wash your garment. If the stain persists, add bleach to the wash water.

If your garment is made of synthetic material, and the stain is fresh, you can use the flour or talcum powder technique mentioned above. If the stain is older, the cloth soaked in milk is recommended. For a cotton garment, use clean cotton to blot the liquid if the stain is fresh. Use hydrogen peroxide to dab the stain if your garment is white; if it is colored, use rubbing alcohol. If the stain persists, turn to white vinegar and dab it on the stain with a small cloth.

Marie Lecrosnier-Wittkowsky (for Les Grappes)