The Natural Way To Remove Wine Stains
When that splash of red wine lands where it shouldn’t, this fresh, natural product will remove every trace.
Murphy’s Law should have a corollary along the lines of, Anything that stains is more likely to spill—and that especially applies to wine.
Fortunately, there is a solution: Wine Away, which my husband and I, both spilly sorts, are so dependent on that when the BC Liquor stores marked it down prior to discontinuing it, we bought up every can we could find. Recently down to our last can, I started looking for more and discovered that it is now available at wineries, private wine stores, VQA stores, winemaking stores and some kitchen stores.
Spot On—Then Off
Produced in Walla Walla, Washington, by Staci Wanichek and her mum, Cheryl Corn, Wine Away was originally developed as a multipurpose cleaner. Wanichek and Corn gave it to friends to try, one of whom remarked that it worked on red wine stains. Although a smash hit as a wine stain remover—it has been tested and touted by media ranging from Food & Wine and InStyle to Good Housekeeping and Fox 8 News—it is also effective on coffee, blood, ink, juice and pet stains, according to the Wine Away website. I tried it on a stubborn stain from a bloody, greasy bone my dog left on the rug and, sure enough, it’s now a distant memory.
The company doesn’t market Wine Away as a green product, but many retailers do, says Cheryl Corn. Water-based with fruit and vegetable extracts, it has a fresh citrus scent, contains no bleach and or phosphates and is not harmful to pets, children or oriental rugs. Bottles are made of brushed aluminum or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and boxes from recycled materials.
The 240-ml size sells for $12.99 and $14.99 at two local stores I checked or two for $18.50 online. The suggested retail price for the purse size is $9.40. For more sizes and information, visit the Wine Away website at www.wineaway.com or call 888-946-3292 (toll free). —Felicity Stone
For where to buy specific items in a store near you, contact the Canadian distributor, Taylor Hill Agencies, 604-948-2622, www.taylorhillagencies.com.
Photos: Dreamstime, courtesy Wine Away
“we bought up every can we could find. Recently down to our last can…”
Just how much wine are you spilling???
Remember, every spill is a lost mouthful…
Powdered Oxiclean will also do the trick nicely. When we had a red wine accident on a white carpet, oxiclean turned it almost navy blue and then it disappeared before our eyes. Works well on coffee stains (also on the white rug), yellow mustard and various fruit juice and vegetable stains. It was a full cup of coffee with cream that landed on the carpet. It took 3 applications to fully get rid of the color but it was finally gone.
Don’t be alarmed at the color change – with yellow mustard, it turned a dark brown/gold color before disappearing.
Not so sure it would work on oily, greasy stains but for anything organic it seems to do the trick.
Linda,
Thanks for the tip. We just heart this product. —eds
t was several years ago, we only found a few and I gave some away to friends as gifts.
— Tx, F.