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Discover how to remove red wine stains easily

Accidentally spilled red wine on your favorite shirt? Get rid of red wine stains easily by pre-treating it quickly with the right stain remover. For many people, there’s nothing more relaxing than having a glass of red wine with dinner. One wrong move, however, and you can easily spill red wine onto your favorite shirt. Luckily, if you know how to remove red wine stains from clothes and treat the stain quickly, your shirt can be saved! Here’s how to do it.
A glass of red wine spilled onto a button-up shirt.

Remove red wine stains from clothes: Step by Step

  1. Try to soak up the stain as soon as possible. You can press a paper towel against the stain to attempt to remove excess wine, but avoid rubbing the fabric as this could push the stain further into the material.
  2. Avoid letting the stain dry, if possible. When the red wine stain is still damp, it’s easier to treat and remove. Try flushing out the stain with cold water, or even sparkling water from a bottle, but don’t use hot water because this will make the stain set into the material.
  3. Once it’s damp, one of the best ways to remove red wine stains is to spread kitchen salt over the stain and push the crystals against the fabric. This helps to absorb more of the stain before washing.
  4. Brush off any remaining grains of salt, then pre-treat the stain by applying a stain remover.
  5. Wash the item of clothing following the garment’s laundry symbols, although it’s best to wash on a cold or low temperature to keep the stain from setting in. If you’re in a rush, try Persil® Stain Fighter laundry detergent Discs, as these have pre-measured doses of powerful laundry detergent.
  6. Check the stain. If it isn’t completely gone, then you could try soaking the garment in cold water for an hour or two, and then repeat steps 4 and 5. Red wine stains on clothing are hard to remove if you tumble-dry or iron the item before the stain is completely gone. This is because heat will make the stain set in.

How to remove a dry red wine stain

Ideally, red wine stains should be dealt with as soon as possible to avoid it setting into the fabric and drying. Spring into action as soon as you can, in the same way you would for a carpet! Don’t worry though, removing dry red wine stains is possible even if it might take a little patience.

There are plenty of home remedies on the internet that people recommend, such as pre-treating the stain with dish detergent and hydrogen peroxide. In reality, this isn’t necessary; pre-treating with our Stain Fighter liquid detergent and following the steps above is effective. Bear in mind, that you may have to repeat the process, but don’t be discouraged! If you’re still having difficulty removing the dry red wine stain, you could consider applying a little white vinegar to the stain before pre-treating with Persil® detergent.