It’s a Friday night, the kids are in bed, and you’ve finally chosen a movie that you and your partner agree on. As you pass your partner their freshly poured glass of red wine, the unthinkable happens. You’ve spilt an entire glass of red wine on your material couch, what should you do? In this article, we will give you three sure-fire ways to clean your sofa with items you will have in the kitchen.
Before you use any of the methods below, it is important to realise that the quicker you act the better chance you have of removing these stains. As the red wine penetrates deeper and deeper into the material surface it becomes harder to clean. Blotting and soaking up as much of the red wine with a kitchen towel or clean cloth is your first step. You know your ready for the stain removal stages when your cloth or paper towel is no longer soaking up red wine.
Soda Water or Carbonated Water
Using soda water or carbonated water is an effective and safe method for removing red wine stains. Soda water is safe in nature on both your skin and fabric materials. The safe nature of soda water means you can be sure that you won’t be having any nasty skin reactions or cause any damage to the fabric of your furniture or any other materials the soda water comes into contact with. Use a spray bottle, and soak the stained area with soda water. Allow the carbonated water to soak into the material and blot immediately. Repeat this process until you can no longer soak up any more red wine stains. This is an effective, safe and low-cost method for removing these stains.
Vinegar and Banking Soda
The baking soda and vinegar method is effective and versatile. It works amazingly on freshly spilt wine and can even clean older stains. Pour a healthy amount of baking soda into a plastic bowl or container, then add vinegar slowly until you create a paste that is a similar consistency as toothpaste. Apply this paste onto the stained area and wait for 5-10 minutes, allowing the paste to soak up some of the red wine. Clean the surface with a clean damp cloth and repeat the process until the baking soda and vinegar paste is visually not removing any more of the red stains. Note that the baking soda paste should bubble away for a few seconds once applied, this is a good sign that the process is working.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen Peroxide may be the most effective method available for removing the red wine stains from your furniture. Please note though that Hydrogen Peroxide is a corrosive chemical and should be treated with all of the respective safety gear it requires. Hydrogen Peroxide works so well because it has bleaching characteristics, this means you should test the product on a small hard to see an area of the fabric that is stained just to check it doesn’t cause any discolouration or fading. Once your happy that this product won’t cause any permanent or noticeable damage, apply the hydrogen peroxide liberally on the area that is Stained. Wait for one hour once the chemical has been applied, allowing the hydrogen peroxide to react with the colouration of the stain Clean the surface of the fabric or material of your furniture with a clean damp cloth once finished and enjoy using a stain-free couch.
Whilst these methods work really well as DIY remedies to your furniture, it should be noted that different materials, fabrics, wines and even weather conditions can cause permanent staining that these methods cannot remedy. In these cases, a professional should be used. These professionals use a mixture of special cleaning solutions and powerful hot water extraction machines. Leaving your furniture not only stain free but cleaner than it’s ever been before. If your struggling for an expert you can trust, a well known reliable upholstery cleaner in Perth is Empire Upholstery.