How to Get Red Wine Out of Carpet (Fresh and Dried Stains)

To get red wine out of carpet, blot it straight away, dilute it with cold water, then lift the rest with a weak dishwashing liquid solution and rinse. Press white paper towel into the spill until it stops turning pink. Dab on a little cold water and blot again. Then work in a quarter teaspoon of dishwashing liquid mixed into a cup of lukewarm water, blot, and finish with a cold water rinse.

Speed is everything with red wine. The Carpet and Rug Institute warns that delay can turn a spill into a permanent stain, and lab testing by Consumer Reports found red wine is one of the harder spills because it soaks in immediately.

This guide covers why red wine stains so badly, a step-by-step method for fresh spills, what to do if it has dried, which popular tricks are worth trying, and when to call a professional.

Red wine is coloured by natural pigments from the grape skins. To a carpet fibre, a glass of red behaves a lot like a pot of dye.

Three things decide how hard it will be to remove:

• Time. The longer the wine sits, the more pigment soaks into the fibre and the backing below. Fresh spills are far easier than dried ones.
• Heat. Warm water or a hair dryer on a wet stain can help the colour set. Godfrey Hirst advises cold water for most stains on synthetic carpet, and warm, not hot, water on wool.
• Fibre. Wool and nylon take up colour more readily than polypropylene or polyester, so a spill on wool needs extra care and a gentler method.

The method below keeps all three on your side: act fast, keep it cool, and use the mildest solution that works.

Which detergent? Use plain dishwashing liquid. The Carpet and Rug Institute warns against laundry detergent, because many contain optical brighteners that can dye the fibre, and against dishwasher detergent, because many contain bleaching agents. If you have a carpet spot cleaner, test it first and follow the label exactly.

Wool carpet or a wool rug? Go gently and keep the water warm, not hot. Godfrey Hirst's wool guide warns that rushed or rough spot cleaning can set stains, distort the pile and remove colour. If the wine is not lifting after a couple of rounds, stop and call a professional.

A dried stain is harder, but not always hopeless, especially if it is only a day or two old.

1. Rehydrate it. Dab cold water onto the stain and leave it for a few minutes so the dried wine softens.
2. Blot. You may see pink come up onto the towel straight away. Keep blotting while it does.
3. Follow steps 3 to 6 above. Dried stains usually need more rounds than fresh ones. Let the carpet dry fully between attempts.
4. Watch for wicking. Godfrey Hirst notes that stains hidden deep in the pile can resurface as the carpet dries, and that treatment may need repeating over a number of days.

Know when to stop. If the stain has faded to a faint pink or brown shadow and nothing more is transferring onto the cloth, more home treatment is unlikely to help and may damage the pile. That is the point to call a professional, before anyone reaches for something stronger.

Shop-bought carpet stain removers vary a lot. CHOICE has lab tested 21 carpet stain removers on red wine and other common stains, and it tested plain water alongside them as a comparison. Its full results are for members, so check them before you buy. Consumer Reports' testing also found that no remover took every stain out completely. Whatever you use, test it on a hidden patch first and rinse well afterwards.

Call a professional carpet cleaner when:

• a pink or brown mark is still there after a few careful rounds
• the spill is on wool carpet or a valuable rug
• the wine went across a large area, or down the side of a couch as well as the floor
• the spot now looks darker or feels sticky, which usually means residue is still in the pile
• you are moving out of a rental and need the carpet professionally cleaned before the final inspection (see our end of lease cleaning)

The Carpet and Rug Institute notes that professional cleaners have the ability and equipment to use stronger cleaning solutions on stubborn spills. We treat spots and stains as part of a carpet steam clean. Stain treatment usually adds $30 to $60, and the full rates are on our carpet cleaning prices page. We look at every mark before we start and tell you honestly if a stain is unlikely to come out completely.

For general upkeep, Godfrey Hirst recommends professional hot water extraction every 12 to 18 months. We clean carpet across Canberra and Queanbeyan; see our Canberra carpet cleaning page for what is included. If the wine also landed on a fabric couch, our upholstery cleaning service can help, and our complete guide to removing carpet stains covers coffee, food and other common spills.