Rug Care Lesson #1: Red Wine May 16 2015

One of the most common rug care questions is, "What if I spill red wine?"

First, let's set the stage. You're throwing a fabulous dinner party and it's going perfectly. The music playlist you carefully curated is hitting all the right notes. The food is NW fresh and divine. Everyone is having a grand time, until out of the corner of your eye, you see an errant elbow strike a full glass of red wine. The glass careens off your live edge coffee table, sending the glass and the entirety of its contents onto your prize living room rug from Kush. Fear not, vino lovers, Randy Hyde from Renaissance Rug Cleaning is here to coach you through the dreaded red wine spill.

Kush: "After a red wine spill what should I not do?"

Randy: "Don’t panic. Don’t pour a cleaning  product on the spill and start scrubbing. If one product doesn’t work, don’t reach for successive products. And don't listen to old wives tales to try and remove the spot because you are likely just going to make it worse. Often by the time the rug gets to us it’s the spotting gone wild that becomes the issue, more that the original spill."

Kush: "I spilled red wine on my rug, what should I do?"

Randy: "Again, don’t panic! Gently blot at the spot with uncolored napkins or white terry cloth towels to remove as much liquid as possible before you use any spotting product on the rug. This is true with any liquid spill. Then take a cup of warm water and one drop of a hand dish detergent, I like Bio-Klean, personally. I said-- one drop of detergent! If one drop is good, 10 drops is not better. Flood the spot and blot with dry towels. If you have a wet/dry vacuum (shop vacuum), or a bissell, it’s much faster. Just vacuum the wine up, flood the spot and vacuum up again to remove as much of the liquids as possible. When done, cover it with a white cotton towel, a piece of plastic wrap over the cotton towel and then a heavy book on top of the plastic. This will pull moisture and any residual wine in to the towel. Check on it periodically and replace the towel with a clean dry one as necessary."

Phew! Now your epic dinner party can continue in high spirits and you don't have to blacklist the humbled soul with careless elbows. Drink in good health!

For all of your rug cleaning, repair needs, & appraisals, Kush recommends Renaissance Rug Cleaning Inc.