Clothing - Red Wine Spills

If you wear white or light clothing there sometimes seems to be almost a magnetic attraction to red wine. Conventional wisdom says to put on white wine or soda water to dilute a stain. Firstly, though dry the stain with kitchen paper and keep going back and diluting the stained area and again mopping up the stain with paper. This is easiest if you remove the garment. Salt can be used to help dry the stain and stop it from spreading.

There are now lots of cleaners with the word OXI in the title. They are VERY GOOD at removing the colour from a stain. (They are widely available and come in aerosol packs or powder form). Check your wash label and wash at the highest recommended temperature. Of course if it says dry clean, then take to a professional. Most cleaners will have expertise in stain removal and could be well worth it in the case of a favourite or valuable garment. If you can, keep the stain moist if it requires further treatment. Dried out stains are harder to remove.

Wine and Spirit Guide