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Red Wine Emergency? How To Clean Up A Spill When You Don'T Have Carpet Cleaner

14 September 2016

Felecia Coleman

It's the classic carpet conundrum: spilling red wine on the carpet. And while you can take all of the precautions in the world to prevent it from happening, all it takes is one tipsy party guest or a single misstep, and before you know it, your tan carpet has a burgundy blotch. If you don't have a carpet stain remover on hand, don't panic. If you follow these steps, you should be able to get the majority of the stain out – if not eliminate it entirely.

Blot like a champion

The more wine you can soak up right off the bat, the better your end results will be. The main secret here is to blot – not rub. Take a thick stack of paper towels (or even a real towel if you have one you don't mind staining) and place it on top of the spill. Press straight down, resisting the urge to go side to side as this will drive the wine deeper into the carpet and expand the stain. Really lean your weight into it, or stand on it if needed. When the towels are saturated, repeat this step with a new stack. Keep going until you're not blotting up any more wine.

Clean with vinegar and dish soap

Fill a spray bottle with vinegar, and add a big squirt of dish soap. If you have a powerful, grease-fighting dish soap like Dawn, this is best. Give the bottle a gentle shake, and then spray the mixture on the stained area. Start at the outside, and work your way in – this will help keep the stain from getting any larger. Let the mixture sit for a minute or two, and then blot it up just as you did before. Repeat this step two or three times until the stain does not seem to be getting any lighter.

Use peroxide—if you have a light carpet

If your carpet is any darker than a light tan, you'll want to stop before this step and just accept that your results are your results. But if you have a very light carpet, you can try removing any last traces of the stain with hydrogen peroxide. Pour a generous amount on, watch it foam up as it reacts with the wine and removes staining, and then blot it up about five minutes later.

Keeping carpet cleaner on hand is always wise in case you have a wine emergency. But if you get caught without it, the steps above do work pretty well. For more information, contact companies like Superior Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Inc. 

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