# Help! Red wine stain on carpet! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559 "2002-11-29T22:50:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/1 "2002-11-29T22:50:40Z")
Last weekend a sizable quanity of red wine was spilt on a friend’s carpet. At the time we put salt on it to try and soak it up but it’s still pretty bad. What’s the best they to do to get the stain out? Is it too late? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/2 "2002-11-29T23:08:38Z")
Try ammonia first. Ammonia will usually act on the redness chemical in red wine, rendering it clear. –Nott ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/3 "2002-11-29T23:18:34Z")
Don’t laugh but that PBS guy suggested trying dry hand cleaner from the auto parts store. You know that white stuff (its not dry but gel like) you rub on your hands? ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/4 "2002-11-29T23:30:06Z")
I have a white wool rug, two cats and a loaded wine rack. Believe me, I’ve researched the cleaning in case of disaster. In general for wine spills it goes: 1. Detergent (clear detergent - NO bleaches or alkalis) 2. Blot 3. Ammonia (7% solution) 4. Blot 5. Vinegar (white vinegar, of course) 6. Blot 7. Detergent 8. Blot 9. Water 10. Blot A very, VERY handy trick I’ve also found is to do all of this with a Shop-Vac on the go. The workshop vacuum cleaners that can suck up liquids. So as you’re cleaning you can really saturate the carpet and draw out the stain with the vacuum and there’s less of a risk that you’ll spread the stain around – absolutely amazing. ---
**Author:** ![BobbySuezQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@BobbySuezQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobbySuezQ)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/5 "2002-11-29T23:40:08Z")
pouring white wine on it will remove it. Honest. I’m not kidding! ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/6 "2002-11-30T03:02:20Z")
Tonic water. At high enough pressure, that stuff will peel paint. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/7 "2002-11-30T06:25:25Z")
I just used the last of my last-resort stain remover, for the very same reason…can’t remember the name (something like “Spot Out” or equally creative). Comes in a blue spray can with an orange lid, and can remove basically any stain from carpet. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/8 "2002-11-30T11:13:38Z")
Billy Mays told me that Oxy-Clean would take red wine out of a carpet. He wasn’t lying. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/9 "2002-11-30T11:16:52Z")
Oxy-Clean. It works. ---
**Author:** ![mrcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@mrcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrcrow)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/10 "2002-11-30T11:29:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobbySuezQ \* > \*\*pouring white wine on it will remove it. > Honest. I’m not kidding! \*\* this definately works if you are fast enough… i use kirby carpet cleaner and go easy and be patient…it may take a few cleans to get it off. dupont give a list of cleaners for their treated carpets but then again they have a barrier applied to the material before its sold. [duponts stainmaster site](http://www.stainmaster.com.au/stain.aspx) 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/11 "2002-11-30T12:11:33Z")
Oxygen bleach - sodium percarbonate - works. Mop up with cold water, then apply the stuff. Wait maybe 10 minutes, mop up with cold water again. See what it looks like. Repeat. The Oxy-Clean stuff that other posters have referred to is one brand name for the stuff. In Australia, I use Napisan. I don’t know whether Oxy-Clean is in a liquid or a powder form. Napisan is a powder, so I have to mix it with water before using. I’ve had to do this several times. It really does work. I’ve also tried the other things, rinsing with soda water, etc. and they help but don’t really do the job. ---
**Author:** ![kirk280980](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c77e96/32.png) [@kirk280980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk280980)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-red-wine-stain-on-carpet/139559/12 "2002-11-30T15:45:09Z")
For those who use Oxi-Clean, mix it with the hottest water you can get from the tap. That will give it an extra boost (oxygen bleaches work better at higher temperatures), and also prevents it leaving a white, crystal-like residue on the carpet. I’ve used the Kirby shampooer as well, and as **mrcrow** pointed out, it takes a few tries but does work well. Let the carpet dry completely and vacuum it thoroughly before repeating the job; you want to remove as much of the dried foam/stain residue as possible after the first shampooing, otherwise you’ll just end up scrubbing it back into the carpet second time round.