A tablecloth or a hard floor might not cause too much of a disaster but if you are unlucky enough to have red wine sloshed across your fabric sofa or cream carpet, you’re going to need a plan of action.

But don’t panic, once you know these handy tips you’re going to be able to tackle the stain in the most effective way without having a breakdown in the process.

The most important thing to remember with any red wine stain is, do not rub it. The aim is to extract the stain and rubbing will only push the stain into the fibres and make it much more difficult to get out. The second most important thing to do is act quickly, the longer the red wine is allowed to sit the more it will set-in and the harder it will be to extract.

For both carpets and upholstery there are many tried and tested methods of stain removal but here we’re going to keep it simple with these two foolproof methods that use only household supplies.

Wool Carpets

Firstly, blot the affected area with paper towels or a cloth that you don’t mind getting stained. Remember, do not rub the stain. Blot the edges first to avoid the stain getting any bigger.

Once it becomes difficult to get any more of the wine out by blotting, pour cold water on the stain to dilute the wine so you can carry on blotting until the area is dry again.

Add more cold water and pour salt over the affected area. The salt will draw out the moisture over a few hours, the longer you can leave it the better. As the salt absorbs the wine, it will gradually turn pinkish.

When the stain is almost completely dry, scoop away the excess salt and vacuum the area and hopefully, the stain will have disappeared!

Fabric Sofa

Blot the affected area with paper towels or a cloth that you don’t mind getting stained. Remember, do not rub the stain. Blot the edges first to avoid the stain getting any bigger.

Once you have blotted the stain dry, mix together 1 tablespoon of liquid hand washing detergent with two cups of cold water

Sponge the stain with the detergent solution using a clean white cloth

Blot the stain until it's dry

Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the stain has disappeared

Finally, sponge the area with cold water and blot dry

Hopefully, you will be able to eradicate the stain yourself and forget it ever happened but if you aren’t so lucky you might have to seek professional help, we recommend the Cleaning Doctor at www.cleaningdoctor.net.