One of life’s great pleasures is having a glass of wine (maybe after doing all the laundry for the week?!)That pleasure shouldn’t be avoided over a worry about spilling, wine is easy to remove from your clothes if you know a few tricks.The first and most important tip is “DON’T PANIC”, we can get it out (and there is no reason to worry, other than you wasted part of a glass of wine!)Cotton, Linen, Polyester (and most fabrics other than wool or silk)In the moment, blot like the devil! You want to remove as much of the wine as possible, not as much for stain removal but because it will be more comfortable if you can’t change out of the garment right away. Don’t worry about rinsing if you are wearing it, it will be fine!When you are ready to wash the garment, use oxygen bleach alternative and hot water mixed into a container to dip the stain into. To be on the safe side, apply a bit of the solution to an inside hem to test for colorfastness, but this solution is very safe. The stain will probably will disappear immediately–if not, dip again! The stain may turn blue or purple, this is fine! Use a little laundry soap and a brush to remove the color, then launder as usual.Wool and SilkWool and silk are much tougher to remove wine, but it is certainly not impossible.In the moment, blot like crazy, try to remove as much of the wine as you can. Unlike other fabrics, you really should rinse if you are able. If not, blot with cool plain water. (Using club soda is really no more effective than tap water, so plain water is fine.)When you are ready to wash the garment, start with Dawn dish detergent and vinegar. Dawn works on protein fabrics, so it’s effectiveness is much better on wool and silk. Mix 1 tablespoon Dawn, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 2 cups water. Apply to the stain, leave it on for a few minutes, then rinse with cool water. You might have to repeat this once or twice to get all of the wine out, but it works 90% of the time on its own.Drying Your GarmentHang the garment to dry the first few washes to make sure you don’t have a stain that appears in the dryer (a phantom stain). If you do still have a little stain, use hydrogen peroxide applied directly to the stain, and wash. The downside of hydrogen peroxide is that it isn’t entirely removing the stain, just altering its appearance.Drink with abandon, and worry about the stains tomorrow.
