If you have any amount of carpet in the space where you entertain, chances are you’ve either
a) already spilled red wine on your carpet or
b) you anticipate one of your guests spilling red wine on your (or your rental’s) carpet in the near future.
To be prepared for these situations—or for treating red wine stains after an accident—we’ve laid out several options for removing those pesky stains.
Before we share our eight methods for how to get red wine out of carpet, though, a little bit about the KnowWines blog. We are an Amazon.com affiliate and we do receive a small commission if you purchase items through our affiliate links at no cost to you. The commissions we receive help us pay for web hosting fees, our podcast, products to test, and other costs associated with running this site. Thanks for using our affiliate links and supporting our independent blog!
Red Wine Stains: Cleaning Solutions Compared
We purchased a sample of carpet from Home Depot as our testing surface. For the wine, we went with a Pinot Noir already open from the previous night’s festivities (4th of July).
We used a teaspoon to pour 5 mL (one teaspoon) of wine on ten places on the carpet.
After conducting some online research, we found a common theme in red wine stain removal advice: gently dab at the stain as soon as possible to absorb as much liquid as possible. So, for nine of the spots, I dabbed each one for about one minute with a soft inexpensive white cotton washcloth before continuing with the stain treatments.
So, can you really get out a red wine stain with just dabbing?
After dabbing the nine spots on the carpet, we have to agree with previous posters—the simple act of dabbing the stain with a dry, white (or very light-colored) cotton washcloth greatly reduced the appearance of red wine on the carpet by over 50 percent!
Word to the wise, though: Don’t use a dark washcloth or a washcloth that is new and has never been washed, as it might bleed when coming in contact with the liquid, creating an even bigger stain!
Also, don’t rub the red wine stain. Just dab! Depending upon the construction of the carpet, rigorous rubbing may damage delicate fibers.
So if you are hosting a party where wine stains are a possibility, your first first line of defense is simply a few cheap hand towels like these:
Does Cold Water Get Red Wine out of the Carpet?
Method: After dabbing the wet wine stain spot with the cotton cloth, we applied 10 mL (2 teaspoons) of cold water to the spill area. We then dabbed that area with a clean portion of the towel and waited two hours to assess the stain.
Conclusion: After 2 hours, over 95% of the stain was gone! We were honestly impressed. When using cold water, we’d recommend not being too generous with it as you could soak the padding underneath the carpet and cause a moldy mess.
This was the easiest (and free!) solution with my carpet sample. Your mileage may vary with your specific carpet. If you desire more thorough results, then I’d recommend following up with a commercial product like OxyClean or Chateau Spill.
Does Club Soda Get Red Wine Out of the Carpet?
Method: After dabbing the wet wine stain spot with the cotton cloth, we applied 10 mL (2 teaspoons) of cold club soda to the spill area. We then dabbed that area with a clean portion of the towel and waited two hours to assess the stain.
Conclusion: After 2 hours, over 95% of the stain was gone! Again, an impressive result. Again, when using club soda or a clear sparkling water, we recommend not being too generous with it as you could soak the padding underneath the carpet and cause a moldy mess.
While not free, club soda is a cheap and easy solution (and this is a product that many of us already have in our homes). Your mileage may vary with your specific carpet. If you desire more thorough results, then we’d recommend following up with a commercial product like OxyClean or Chateau Spill.
Does OxiClean Get Red Wine out of the Carpet?
Method: After dabbing the wet wine stain spot with the cotton cloth, we applied 10 mL (2 teaspoons) of OxiClean paste (using instructions on the OxiClean tub). We then waited for the spot to dry for two hours to assess the stain.
Conclusion: After 2 hours, 100% of the stain was gone! While it did take a couple of minutes to find a bowl and make the paste, once the paste was applied we could go back to meal prep. And after the stain was treated, it was like the spill never happened!
Who could argue with a stain 100% gone on my carpet sample?
The only down side was waiting for the paste to dry and then finding my tiny car vacuum to vacuum up the paste residue. If I’d had guests in the house, they may have trampled the OxiClean around the room. If we had a pet, they might come over and try to eat the paste or track it through the house with their paws. However, a little vigilance during the stain treatment is a small price to pay for a fresh, unstained carpet.
So, if you entertain and you know that your carpet won’t react adversely to OxiClean, we highly recommend this product for getting out red wine stains from carpet, especially for pet-free individuals or those with older children.
Does Chateau Spill Get Red Wine Out of the Carpet?
Method: After dabbing the wet wine stain spot with the cotton cloth, we applied 10 mL (2 teaspoons) of Chateau Spill to the stain. We then waited for the spot to dry for two hours to assess the stain.
Conclusion: After 2 hours, 100% of the stain was gone!
We did like that I didn’t have to go make a paste. We simply had to point and spray to cover the area. The area was a little moist after applying the product, however we were able to control the spray versus dumping or pouring cold or sparkling water.
With this product, there are no worries about little ones, guests or pets dispersing a drying paste around the house. This one was our personal favorite. If you do purchase a bottle of this to have on hand, make sure that you test an area on your carpet. We also like that it is a nontoxic formula containing no chlorine, phosphates, sulphates, parabens, peroxide, perfumes, or dyes.
Will Dish Soap & Hydrogen Peroxide get Red Wine out of the Carpet?
Method: After dabbing the wet wine stain spot with the cotton cloth, we applied 10 mL (2 teaspoons) of a mixture that was 3 parts hydrogen peroxide and 1 part dishwashing liquid to the stain. We waited for the spot to dry for two hours to assess the stain.
Conclusion: After 2 hours, over 100% of the stain was gone! Impressive! When adding liquids to a carpet, again, we recommend not being too generous with it as you could soak the padding underneath the carpet and cause a moldy mess.
It was a little bit of a pain to make the solution, however it was cheap and free, as we already had these items on hand.
Will White Vinegar & Dish Soap get Red Wine from the Carpet?
Method: After dabbing the wet wine stain spot with the cotton cloth, we applied 10 mL (2 teaspoons) of a solution containing one part white vinegar and one part dishwashing liquid to the stain. We waited for the spot to dry for two hours to assess the stain.
Conclusion: After 2 hours, 100% of the stain was gone! Again, impressive! When adding liquids to a carpet, we recommend not being too generous with it as you could soak the padding underneath the carpet and cause a moldy mess.
Making the solution required a bit of work, but this was a totally free stain remover, as I already had these items on hand.
Will Baking Soda & Dish Detergent Remove Red Wine From Carpet?
Method: We found several articles online suggesting that a combination of baking soda, dish detergent, and water could remove red wine when applied to the stain. So, we gave this method a try. After dabbing the wet wine stain spot with the cotton cloth, we applied 10 mL (2 teaspoons) of one a mixture that was one part baking soda, one part dish detergent, and four parts cold tap water. We waited for the spot to dry for two hours to assess the stain.
Conclusion: After 2 hours, 100% of the stain was gone!
However, after 2 hours, the baking soda and dish detergent slurry was still wet, so we couldn’t vacuum up any residue. This area was the wettest of all test areas.
This was our least favorite solution - we had to locate the items, make the mixture, wait for the results, and then clean up the solution.
Does Kosher Salt Get Red Wine Out of the Carpet?
Method: After dabbing the wet wine stain spot with the cotton cloth, we applied 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to the stain. We waited for the spot to dry for two hours to assess the stain.
Conclusion: After 2 hours, over 95% of the stain was gone. However, the area was still wet under the mountain of kosher salt, and we could still see some red wine stain. And we still had to vacuum up the salt.
While we love the idea of all-natural & cheap stain removers, this solution and the baking soda solution were our least favorites.
How do I Get Red Wine Out of the Carpet the Next Day?
Perhaps one of your guests did not disclose that they left a wine stain for you to clean up. Or perhaps you’re culprit, and you didn’t even realize you’d spilled your wine until the next day.
In this case, the first step would be to slightly rehydrate the stain using a small amount of cold water—but again, be careful to not soak the carpet and underneath padding with water. Dab a bit at the stain with a white (or light) dry washcloth to remove excess moisture. Then apply Chateau Spill to the stain. The Chateau Spill should take care of the stain. If not, consider contacting a professional cleaner for follow-up steps.
Our Conclusion: Your Carpet is Salvageable After Red Wine Spills
Unless your carpet is made of unique or very specialized material, there are many solutions available in the home for getting out a red wine stain. And that’s great news!
If your event is crowded, has pets or children afoot, and your carpet is cheap, we recommend simply dabbing up as much of the wine spill as possible with an inexpensive white or light colored dish or hand towel so that you don’t have a sopping mess. After dabbing, pour some cold water or club soda on the spill area and continue to dab. And if you have some Chateau Spill on hand, give the area a few squirts for good measure!
Take a look in the morning to make sure that the area is dry and clean. If the stain is not clear, slightly rehydrate the stain and treat again. If there’s still no success with removing the red wine stain, contact a professional cleaner for recommendations.
And if you find yourself cleaning up red wine stains over and over again, you may want to think about getting a few unbreakable, stainless wine glasses, which are easier to hold and thus, harder to drop.
Cheers!