You decided to throw a party at home…what a great idea! Of course, you invited all your friends and family over to have a great time! Best of all, you decided to serve beer, wine and tons of food for everyone to enjoy! This sounds awesome, what could possibly go wrong? Yeah, that’s what many of our customers said before the party…what could go wrong? Do you know how many times we have advised our clients NOT to serve red wine at a dinner party…too many, and they never listen! Hey, I have nothing against red wine, but it sure does cause some headaches…literally!

Yes, red wine can cause headaches, but the one I’m referring to hurts your head and pocket book…GRRRR! After all, I am in the carpet cleaning business people…I see this all the time! The good news is that red wine CAN be removed from both synthetic and natural fibers with NO negative affects…if done properly! The bad, many consumers try and ruin the rug/carpet from improper pre-treatment or stain removal attempt…that sucks! You see, red wine is an organic beverage, just like coffee, tea, tomato juice…you get the point! Well, organic dyes can be some of the most difficult stains to remove, especially from natural fibers like wool or cotton. This is due to natural fibers absorbing the red wine into the fiber. Whereas, Polyethylene & Polypropylene resins (synthetic fibers) are basically plastic and repel the stain! Although synthetic fibers are somewhat stain proof, solvents are used during the manufacturing process, which means, the fibers can be stained, but not penetrated! It’s a little confusing, but the point is, synthetic fibers are more resilient to staining…that’s all! Also, most dyes, either organic or synthetic need to be broken down for them to be removed. This is exactly what the stain removal process is intended to do, break down the dye and extract. Synthetic dyes such as Red #10 and Yellow #5 are examples of synthetic dyes found in low quality foods such as soft drinks.

Hopefully, you above mentioned helps, it’s very basic, but you get the point! Moving on, for those that would like to attempt stain removal on their own, without negative results such as fiber damage or color damage, below we will discuss your options. Honestly, I do not recommend trying to remove any type of stain from an expensive Persian/oriental rug on your own. But, as you know, there is always going to be someone that doesn’t listen to good advice and thinks they know everything. For the ones that know everything, take some advice, seek professional assistance before you ruin your $5000.00 rug!

For the brave, the example is, red wine spilled on a cream-colored wool rug.

  1. First thing, use a white terry cloth (only) and soak-up as much of the wine as possible.
  2. When soaking up the excess wine (DO NOT RUB) just blot the stain gently! If you rub, you will damage the fiber! Blot stain until desired results are achieved.
  3. Next, fill a clear glass with 5oz. of cold water (cold water only)
  4. Pour 1 cap-full of Hydrogen Peroxide, Ammonia into the 5oz. of water. Do not over pour! Any chemical abused or over used can cause damage! The cap used should be roughly the size of a quarter about ¼ inch to a ½ inch deep.
  5. Mix solution with a plastic straw or something disposable.
  6. Draw the solution into an eye dropper or cooking syringe (something where you can control the volume released).
  7. Depending on size of the stain, release 1 drop at a time on the area needing attention. Wearing a rubber latex glove, manipulate the fibers gently for about 5 seconds and BLOT IMMEDIATLEY! Do not let the solution sit there for more than 5 seconds. If desired results are not achieved, then repeat the process until satisfied.
  8. Once desired results are achieved, rinse the fibers with 2-3 ounces of cold water and blot with a white terry cloth…DO NOT RUB!