Oops, you’ve gone and spilt a big glass of red on the carpet and it’s not looking good… Luckily, there are so many ways how to get red wine out of your carpet without breaking the bank.
Whether it’s a fresh spill or a dry red wine stain, these DIY cleaning methods will help you remove any discolouration and get it smelling fresh again in no time.
How do you get red wine out of the carpet?
Let’s start with the cleaning technique. There are many ideas floating around, but here are 6 universal steps that will see you to success, whichever cleaning solution you choose.
1. Stop the flow
Make your life a bit easier by stopping the spillage as soon as you can. Lunge for that glass if you have to – it means less cleaning up for you later on!
2. Blot, blot, blot
While it’s tempting to rub the site of the spill, you should never rub it. I repeat: do, not, rub. Scrubbing the stain will only push the red wine deeper into the fibres of your carpet; so instead dab at it with a paper towel or cloth, applying a little water to help dilute the spilt substance and making it easier to blot.
3. Apply your cleaner
Next, you should apply your cleaner by blotting it onto the site of the stain. Make sure you’ve chosen a suitable cleaner for the fabric and that you continue to blot carefully as you don’t want to risk the stain bleeding further in.
Don’t have carpet cleaning detergent to hand or don’t want to use nasty chemicals? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with some powerful DIY recipes.
4. Leave to soak in
Depending on the severity of the stain, you should leave the solution soaking in for 30 minutes to an hour. The longer the better – after all, better safe than sorry!
5. Vacuum or blot dry
Depending on your carpet cleaner, you will either need to hoover it up or blot it out of the fabric with a paper towel or cloth. Once dried, vacuum the area again for a spotless finish.
6. Et voila!
Now your carpet should be smelling fresh and looking good as new. If your efforts don’t seem to work, you can go for another round of cleaning by repeating the previous steps.
Using a commercial carpet cleaner
This is perhaps the simplest solution to your carpet stain problem. Wondering how to get red wine out of the carpet with a commercial cleaner? It’s effortless.
Simply follow the instructions outlined above, making sure to follow the instructions on the packaging as the duration you can leave the carpet cleaner on the surface may vary.
DIY methods
Looking after your carpet shouldn’t have a cost on the planet. Yet our high streets are packed with expensive products that have adverse impacts on our waterways and the animals that live in them. This is even before mentioning the fact that they almost always come in single-use plastic and can give off toxic fumes that contribute to the indoor pollution of our homes.
This calls for the detoxification of our cleaning routines. Fortunately, it couldn’t be easier. The average UK kitchen will already be stocked up with the natural ingredients you need to remove those pesky carpet stains and get it smelling fresh once again.
Eco-friendly? Yep. Cost-effective? For sure. These methods are simple and refreshing, so well worth trying if you want to ditch the chemicals.
Before you get started
Before you muck in, it’s a good idea to make the following considerations. These will make sure you do a spotless job of cleaning your carpets and other surfaces, which is exactly what we want.
Patch test
As you would with hair dye, you should always start with a patch test. Try out a small amount of your chosen cleaning solution on an unobtrusive section of the floor to check whether the fibres of your carpet won’t discolour any further. When you’re sure it’s compatible, you can move on to the rest of the affected area.
Waste-not-want-not
As DIY carpet cleaning recipes don’t contain the chemical preservatives associated with commercial products, they won’t last as long in the cupboard, so make sure to only make as much as you need.
On finding a container
For spray-on cleaners, you can either reuse a plastic spray bottle or create a sprayer from a plastic bottle with holes in the cap – just make sure it’s free of the original product and well washed out.
A note on safety
Before you get carried away and dive right into cleaning your carpet, there are a few dos and don’ts you should take into account.
- Don’t mix bleach with vinegar – when combined, this will create a chemical reaction that releases noxious fumes. For this reason, you should never combine commercial cleaning products with your DIY cleaning solutions.
- Don’t leave vinegar or a receptacle containing it on marble or granite surfaces as it will erode the stone.
- Don’t breathe in your homemade cleaning solutions or get them in your eyes.
- Do ensure that you check if your choice of ingredients (for example, essential oils) is pet safe.
- Do keep your cleaning solutions out of reach of children and pets – even eco-friendly ones.
That’s not to say that these natural carpet cleaning methods aren’t effective. In fact, there’s a growing movement for non-toxic living blossoming on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram proving overwise.
And there are some brilliant incentives to make the effort: the more people cleaning green, the higher the demand for healthier products for our homes and our planet.
How to clean red wine from your carpet naturally: 5 DIY recipes
As with all of these methods, you should start by blotting as much of the red wine stain as you can. Then you can apply the following mixtures.
1. Vinegar, salt and water
Start by mixing white vinegar and warm water at a ratio of 1:2 parts and pour it into a spray bottle or other receptacle before adding 2-3 teaspoons of salt to dissolve into the formula.
Now apply the solution directly onto the affected patch using a cloth or sponge or by spraying it on directly. Keep up the blotting until the stain has lifted and then dab with a little more water before leaving it to dry.
2. Baking soda and water
Another timeless DIY carpet cleaning method, the combination of baking soda and water works a treat on carpet stains. Blot as much of it as you can before preparing a paste by mixing one -part water to three parts baking soda. Apply the paste and leave it to dry before vacuuming the carpet and, hey presto, the stain is gone!
3. Lemon juice, salt and water
You’re familiar with the old saying: when life gives you lemons, clean your carpet! The humble lemon is a delicious addition to home cooking, but it also works a treat as a natural general cleaner thanks to its de-staining and anti-odorous properties.
Dampen the red wine stain with cold water, blot as usual and then apply a good dose of lemon juice, either squeezed directly from the fruit or administered from a bottled product. Do note that fresh lemon will tend to be more effective as its acidity is unhindered by preservatives like those added to bottled lemon juice.
As the lemon sinks into the carpet work salt into the area thoroughly. Then rinse the stain with more cold water and blot it dry.
Top tip: if you’re in a room with natural light, leave the curtains open; the UV rays work well as an organic, carpet-safe bleach.
4. Washing up liquid and warm water
We only recommend this method for small patches. Washing up liquid will help lift the red wine stain from the fibres of your carpet, but may risk colour bleeding in large doses.
Simply dampen the stain, blot like you mean it and then dab on a small squirt of the dish soap, working it gently into the area. Leave it for at least 10 minutes before using more cold water to blot it out and dry the surface.
5. Baking soda and essential oils
This recipe has been doing the rounds on social media and in part due to its simplicity. If you are looking for a fool-proof dry method on how to get red wine smells out of a carpet, try this two-ingredient concoction.
Simply, combine baking soda (for the deep clean) and your essential oils (for the scent). Do this in a suitable container – a popular choice is a mason jar – and make sure they’re well-mixed. For the proportions, a good rule of thumb is 10-15 drops of essential oil for every 200 grams. Of course, you can increase or decrease the amount depending on how strong you want the scent to be.
All you have to do now is generously sprinkle it over the carpet and let it sit to its magic for 30 minutes to an hour. Then you just vacuum it up and you’re left with a beautifully refreshed carpet.
Be warned though: this method is primarily for lifting odours. So, if you want to remove the stain you will have to look to one of our previous recipes to remove any colouration from your carpet.
Getting a professional clean
If none of the methods above are your cup of tea, or they simply sound like too much effort, you could hire the services of a professional carpet cleaner. This way, you’ll know that the cleaning is done to a top standard and will penetrate deep into the fibres, ideal if you’ve only just recently laid your carpet and are concerned about permanent staining.
As you might expect, the price of professional carpet cleaning will vary with the size of the room, the number of rooms that require cleaning and the condition of the carpet. On average, a small 4×4 room will cost around £50 – a great deal cheaper than the cost of entirely replacing the carpet.
When is your carpet too far gone?
Eventually, every carpet comes to the end of its lifetime, even the ones that have been installed by the most qualified of fitters. Here are just a few telltale signs that you might need to say goodbye to your old carpet.
- Unsightly stains won’t go away with multiple cleans
- Odours persist even after treatment
- There’s visible damage from accidents or wear and tear
- You experience increased allergy symptoms from pet hair, dust or pollen.
Tackle those stains
There you go: a whole slew of methods on how to get red wine out of your carpet, from commercial cleaning products to greener DIY solutions. We hope they come in handy.
