Does White wine really work Tips on emergency cleaning
Does White wine really work Tips on emergency cleaning
Spill red wine on the carpet, douse it with white. That’s the old wives’ remedy. Or it was. A Which? Magazine lab study proclaims the remedy to be ineffective. A carpet stain remover would work better, they say. But what if you have a crisis on your hands and you only have to hand what’s in your kitchen cupboards?
We’re a carpet cleaning company based in Swindon. We would suggest you lessen the impact of the spillage first of all. Act fast. Grab some paper towels and get blotting the stain. Absorb as much liquid as possible, before it can set. Blot in an up-and-down motion. Rubbing side-to-side will force the wine deeper into the carpet fibres, making it much harder to remove the stain. Blot from the outside in, starting with the stain’s edges, progressing to its centre.
When you’ve blotted as much of the wine as you can, try wetting the stain with a little cold water to dilute the wine remaining in the carpet. Continue blotting until the carpet is dry again.
Do give us a call if you’re in the Swindon area and you decide you need professional carpet cleaning.
Meantime, back to that handy kitchen cupboard… There are a few different antidotes you can try, including:
- Salt. While the stain is still wet, pour on it a pile of salt. The granules will draw the moisture from the stain. If the stain is getting dry, add a little water before adding the salt. The salt will gradually turn pinkish as it absorbs the wine. Leave for a few hours or overnight, then discard the excess salt and vacuum the carpet. The stain should have gone or at least diminished significantly.
- A Vinegar Solution. Mix 1 tablespoon of washing-up liquid, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, and 2 cups of warm water. Dab the mixture onto the stain with a clean rag. The solution will seep into the carpet fibres and loosen the stain. Use a second dry rag to blot the liquid as you go. Alternate between dabbing and drying. Then soak a third rag in cold water and press it into the stain to dilute the wine. Soak up the water by dabbing with the second dry towel you used before. For maximum effectiveness, you may need to repeat the steps above several times.
If you’re in Swindon and you need a full carpet cleaning service, call us for a quote.