Out, Damned Spot! Out!

Recently, I made an amazing wine discovery. I discovered a 1975 Lafite-Rothschild (OK - so I'm a name dropper - sue me!) left just as nasty a red stain on our living room rug as did another bottle of (No Vintage) Mad Dog 20/20. In the world of wine stains, these two wines were each others equal.

"Grab the Chardonnay!", someone yelled, spreading the misconception that diluting the red wine with a white wine would solve everything. Instead, we just got a rosé mess. So, I started doing some research into wine stains and their removal. Here's the skinny.

According to UC, Davis in California, most commercial cleaners are not very effective at removing red wine stains. And silk is the most difficult fabric to remove stains from. Okay, so I'm not telling you house-moms anything new … yet.

They concluded that a mixture of equal parts of hydrogen peroxide and Dawn liquid soap was the best overall cleaner. Bet you didn't know that!

Peroxide is a bleaching agent, and the dyes in red wine proved to be particularly susceptible to bleach. And it did not appear to damage any of the fabrics tested on. However, if you try this, find an inconspicuous spot to try it on first.

Camco, a Florida-based company, makes a product called Erado-sol. It is a commercial product sold mainly to labs and health care facilities, but it is available through the internet. It came in a close second to the home-made brew.

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