A Little Table Salt Is All You Need To Treat A Pesky Red Wine Stain

Studies suggest you should drink a glass of wine every day. But if you're doing so, there's a chance you might accidentally spill your red wine on your carpet or rug on one of those days. As soon as you see that unsightly red stain from the wine, you may worry that you won't be able to get it out. But you can. All you need to do is "pull" the stain out with table salt.

When red wine spills, blot the stain with a cloth or paper towel to soak up as much of the wine as possible so it doesn't penetrate more of the fabric. Blotting also helps protect the material from additional damage and preserves the color. Once you've blotted out as much red wine as possible, pour table salt over the whole area so the stain is completely covered. Allow the salt to settle into the stain until it dries. You can then vacuum or sweep up the salt, which will remove the red wine stain. 

There are a few reasons to drink red wine, but if it spills, there are also a few reasons to blot red wine stains right away. If you have guests over for red wine and conversation, you may not want to interrupt all that socializing to clean up a fresh red wine stain. However, you should clean the stain right away or else it may worsen. If you let a red wine spill remain for too long, it can stain the fibers. If the red wine stain is also subjected to too much heat, it may become permanent. This is why you should use table salt to clean a red wine stain immediately.

You may feel inclined to scrub a red wine stain as you would with other stains. However, even if you use table salt on the stain, scrubbing will push the stain deeper into your fabric and spread it out further. Instead, you should use the aforementioned process of blotting the red wine and covering it with table salt to protect your fabric and more effectively remove the stain.

There are other salt hacks that you can use for cleaning, such as eliminating excessive grease splatter. But the table salt hack works best on red wine stains that have stained certain materials, including couches, carpets, and clothing. You should always treat these immediately with table salt once they're stained. You can also combine table salt with boiling water to remove red wine stains from fabric, such as tablecloths or clothing. 

While you boil some water, cover a bowl with the stained fabric, ensuring the stain is right in the center of the bowl. Use a rubber band to hold the fabric in place over the bowl. Cover the stain with salt so it can absorb the wine. Carefully pour the hot water on the stain from above with at least a foot of space between the kettle and the stain. Gently pour the hot water on the outside of the stain and work your way towards the middle. This will loosen the stain, which will make the fabric easier to clean when it's run through a washing machine cycle using the hottest water setting.