So the drinks party you organised is going great when disaster strikes! Someone from HR has spilt red wine all over your new table cloth. The party is ruined, and now you will surely be excluded from the company work retreat. But fear not! ACE is here! Another problem though, you’ve cleaned so much with ACE, that you’ve run out. Not to worry, here is a handy guide to get rid of some pesky stains when you don’t have an ACE bottle to hand.
Let’s start with red wine, second only to blood in the awful red stain category:
Step One: The number one thing to remember with any stain, especially red wine, is always dab the liquid with a clean towel or cloth, never rub. Rubbing means that the liquid permeates the fibres of whatever it is has been covered, and makes it much more difficult to get rid of in the future.
Step Two: Now, cover the stain with cool water, and then cover with salt. The salt is key, as it absorbs the wine and pulls up out of the fibres. Now you can also pour a little white wine (if you have any handy) on the stain before the salt, which can help neutralise the red wine and make it easier to clean.
Step Three: Now pour some hot water followed by vinegar, or (if you don’t have any vinegar) you can cover the stain with whatever soap you have on hand and some hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide can be fairly reactive, and while most over-the-counter hydrogen peroxide is diluted, it’s always best not to get it on your hand or ingest it.
Step 4: After every stage, be sure to leave the red wine to absorb the salt, or soap, or vinegar, and even milk could apparently work well as well. After all that, you definitely should have gone and bought some more ACE, so be sure to then wash the item with ACE after you have followed the steps. Or, to save time, simply wash with ACE straight away.
Step 5: One last thing: Make sure the stain is gone before you dry the item, as the wine could set if it dries.
Hopefully this handy guide will save you from disaster, but if you have any other tips for dealing with red wine (or any other pesky stain!) let us know in the comments below!
(Oh, and if you don’t know where to buy ACE, click HERE!)
