Champagne (or other sparkling wines) is great for a celebration. But what’s not great is a spillage on your clothes or upholstery. As with any stain, it helps to know how to remove it before it happens so you can act quickly.
Luckily, champagne isn’t a particularly difficult stain to remove because it’s light in colour. Even so, here’s a list of options for how to remove champagne stains.
How Do You Get Champagne Stains Out?
1. All-Round Removal Method
The following method will work on pretty much any fabric, whether carpet, upholstery or clothing. However, don’t try this on more delicate fabric, such as silk. It’ll work on wool, provided you don’t use too much water.
- Blot the stain with a clean cloth. Try to avoid rubbing the stain, instead dabbing it with the cloth to remove as much moisture as possible.
- If the item is washable, chuck it in the washing machine with some bio washing detergent on the hottest temperature the fabric can handle. A stain removal washing detergent is helpful but not entirely necessary.
- When the wash has finished, check the stained area. It should’ve lifted through a normal wash.
- If it hasn’t, mix a small amount of washing detergent in a bowl with warm water and leave the item to soak overnight. After, wash it again.
- If the stain has come out, dry as normal.
For more delicate items, such as silk, follow a standard hand-washing method. Don’t use bio detergent, though, as this can break down the fibres.
2. Removing from Non-Washable Items
When dealing with stains on upholstery, you’re obviously more limited in how you treat them. Using the washing machine isn’t an option, so go with the following:
- Blot the area with a dry cloth.
- Next, flush the area with clean water. To do so, use a washing up sponge dipped in water. Place it on the area and blot, allowing the water to soak into the affected area.
- Blot again with a dry cloth to remove excess moisture and allow to air dry.
- Check the stain has been lifted by running your hand over it. It shouldn’t be sticky and there should be no visual evidence of the stain. If there is, repeat the method.
While you can use detergents on most upholstery, the issue with doing so is that it’s harder to properly wash them out. Blotting with water should be enough in most situations because champagne isn’t a bad stain to lift.
3. Removing Champagne Stains from Carpet
Removing a champagne stain from carpet is fairly similar to upholstery. However, rather than flushing with water, try to keep the area a bit drier. This is because it won’t dry as easily as, say, a rug or cushion cover.
Alternatively, if it’s a heavy-duty carpet, you can tackle the stain with a soft-bristled brush and warm soapy water. The benefit of using a brush over a sponge is that it won’t hold as much water, keeping the area drier.
General Tips for Removing Champagne Stains
When trying to remove any stain from fabric, bear in mind the following tips:
- Blotting is always the best option. Rubbing stains can cause them to set quicker and make them larger. Also, it can damage the fabric.
- Avoid using bio laundry detergents on wool, silk, etc. While it’ll help remove a biological stain, it can also destroy the protein in the fibres.
- For a large stain on upholstery or carpet (such as a whole bottle), blot as much as possible and then consider renting a carpet cleaner. This uses shampoo and will make much quicker work of the job than doing it by hand. Sure, the stain might have dried by the time you get one, but it’ll still be better than doing it by hand.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, getting a champagne stain out isn’t particularly difficult. Of course, if you’re not able to lift it using one of the methods here, consider speaking to a dry cleaner or professional upholstery cleaner or any cleaning services in London. They’ll have much stronger products that’ll make quick work of a champagne stain. Hopefully it won’t get to this point though!