How to Remove Red Wine Stains

When drinking wine, it is easy to accidentally spill it on your clothing or a tablecloth. Whether it’s a spill while toasting or simply falling from your glass, wine stains are common and known to be hard to remove. If not treated properly, the red wine or white wine stains could set permanently. Purex® shares how to remove red wine stains and white wine stains from clothing & fabrics so you can have a stain-free wine experience every time.

Red wine stains are much easier to remove if they are fresh. If you are out to dinner or traveling, a quick stain remover is to try some club soda. Carefully blot the red wine stain with club soda – do not rub! You do not want to rub the stain further into the fibers of your clothing. If this does not work, use the hottest water that your clothing can withstand to again, blot at the red wine stain. This should help to remove most of the stain.

To tackle the rest of the red wine stain, Purex® recommends an enzyme containing stain remover. Spray the remover onto the stain and carefully spread it around the whole red wine stain. Let it sit for approximately five minutes and then wash with your favorite detergent such as Purex® Advanced Oxi + Coldwater Power liquid laundry detergent. This detergent is tough on stains with the power of Oxi and contains enzymes to effectively remove stains. Make sure to check the stain before placing it in the dryer or that could cause the red wine stain to set and become permanent.

For heavy red wine stains, a color safe bleach will help. Pour a little of the color safe bleach onto the stain and let sit for five minutes before washing. For silk and wool, do not use enzyme based products – instead try a color safe bleach. And as always, if you are unsure about a laundry product, test it on the inside hem of your shirt or pants before applying it to the stain.

For white wine stains, washing with a detergent such as Purex® Oxi Power + Odor Fighter laundry pacs should be enough to remove any stain as white wine stains aren’t as intense as red wine. This single dose laundry pac has Oxi and is stored in a convenient, easy-to-use form, allowing you to just toss and go. These pacs are powerful, have stain defense technology, give your clothes a boost of freshness, and have advanced brightening. As always, make sure to follow the care tag instructions on the clothing item or fabric to ensure that you are washing it properly.

Where does the color in wine come from? The culprit is actually the skin of the grape, and the color intensity depends on how long the must, or freshly pressed grapes, stay in contact with the peels. Aging wine can also affect the color; the reactions within the wine can lead to browning over time. Phenolic compounds are responsible for the taste, color, and general feeling the wine causes in your mouth (sweet, tawny, etc.) Simple phenols that are abundant in the skin and seeds of red grapes and the pulp of white grapes are transformed into complex molecules during the aging process. Phenolic compounds such as anthocyanins react with catechins and other components to form polymeric pigments that cause the color of the wine. Other ways to introduce phenols into the wine are through oak aging which can impart a vanilla aroma to wines.

Now that you are equipped with how to properly remove red wine stains and white wine stains, enjoy your wine while always drinking responsibly. For other tough stains, view how to remove grease stains and how to remove coffee stains.

Purex® offers an array of great products, all at an affordable price. Discover Purex® liquid laundry detergents, Pacs and Purex® Crystals™. Purex® products will keep your clothes smelling fresh in a variety of scents while keeping them looking brand new.

We understand that life gets messy and want to make laundry as easy as possible for you. With quality & value continuing to be at the core of our product development, we continue to create highly effective laundry detergent & supplies. We tested some of the toughest stains to keep your clothing looking brand new. View our Stain Lab for our best recommendations to get life's toughest stains out of your clothing.