Red wineon stone & wood surfaces
Do NOT use vinegar or lemon juice — acids permanently etch marble, limestone and travertine, and can dull wood finishes.
Phase 1: Immediate first aid
Use what you have right now. Nothing to buy.
Blot & isolate
Blot from the outside in with a white cloth or paper towel — press, lift, move to a clean bit. Don't rub. Flush from the back with cold water if the fabric allows. On stone or wood: wipe up fast — porous surfaces wick stains in quickly.
Pantry pre-treatment
You need
1 tsp Liquid Dish Soap (e.g. Dawn)+1 cup cold water
Called something else where you are?
- Liquid Dish Soap (e.g. Dawn)
- 🇺🇸 🇨🇦Liquid Dish Soap (e.g. Dawn)🇬🇧 🇦🇺 🇳🇿Washing-up Liquid (e.g. Fairy)🇩🇪Spülmittel🇫🇷Liquide vaisselle🇪🇸Lavavajillas líquido
Method
Stir the soap into the water. Wipe the stain with a soft cloth, working from the edge inward. No acids, no abrasive pads.
Final flush & wash
Wipe clean with a cloth dampened in cold water, rinse with clean water and dry thoroughly. On wood, never leave water standing.
Why this one's tricky
On marble, limestone and travertine the danger isn't really the wine, it's what people grab to clean it. Vinegar and lemon are acids, and acids etch calcium-based stone, leaving a dull patch that no cleaner can fix. Granite and sealed quartz are much more resistant but still worth treating gently. Wipe fast with mild soapy water; if a mark has soaked into pale stone, a baking soda poultice left for a day draws it back out.
Phase 2: Deep restoration
If a faint shadow remains after the initial rinse, or for fabrics that cannot tolerate water agitation:
Residual ghost-ring or dry-clean-only fiber?
Normal washing often won't shift the last trace of a set-in stain. Treat it with a targeted spotter before it goes anywhere near dryer heat — heat locks in whatever is left.
Alba-Tan
Tannin spotter for wine, coffee, tea and tomato — breaks down the brown-yellow ring that pantry methods leave.
Apply a few drops with a cotton bud, tamp gently, then flush as the label directs. Patch-test first.
- Carbona Stain Devils
Pick the formula labelled for this stain type — the range is split by stain.
Build your laundry first-aid kit
Top 3 essential spotters for next time — one for each stain family.
- AlbaChem Dry SpotterGrease, oil, wax, makeup, ink
- Alba-ProBlood, urine, grass, chocolate
- Alba-TanWine, coffee, tea, tomato, curry
Always patch-test on a hidden area first. Never mix bleach, ammonia, vinegar or peroxide together. For valuables, see a professional cleaner.