How to Get Red Wine Out of a Rug

Speed matters more than technique. Wine that is still wet comes out; wine that has dried into the fibre is a different job.

Straight away

• Blot with a white cloth or kitchen paper. Press down, lift, move to a clean patch. Do not rub — rubbing drives the pigment deeper and fluffs the pile.
• Pour cold water on it and blot again. Dilution is the whole game.
• Repeat until the cloth stops picking up colour.

Then wash it

If the rug is machine washable, this is where the argument ends. Get it in the machine at 30°C with normal detergent the same day. On a chenille polyester pile, wine that has been diluted and washed within a few hours leaves nothing.

Things that do not work

• Salt. It absorbs a little liquid and then sits in the pile. It does not lift pigment.
• White wine on red wine. You are adding a second thing to clean up.
• Hot water. Heat sets tannin stains.
• Bleach. On a coloured rug it makes a permanent problem out of a temporary one.

If it has dried

Rehydrate it. Cold water, blot, repeat, then wash. An oxygen-based stain remover — not chlorine bleach — worked into the spot beforehand and left ten minutes will lift most of what is left.