There are stain-y substances — blood, grass, pizza grease — and then there are the SUPER STAINERS — things like cranberry, red wine, pomegranate (don’t even get me started on turmeric) — that go well beyond tricky-to-treat and right into the almost-impossible-to-get-out territory.
Fortunately for you, you have me and I spend, hmm … pretty much all my time thinking about stain removal. That’s especially true at this time of year, when all of a sudden cranberries, those stain-y little fuckers, are everywhere. Plus, the red wine and the pomegranates and etc, etc, etc.
Okay so here’s the thing you need to know about because it is seriously a miracle product.
It is Wine Away.
You can guess, because you’re smart like that, that Wine Away is great at removing red wine stains from clothing, tablecloths, upholstered furniture, carpeting, and so on. But a lesser-known use for it is on cranberry sauce stained items. Which is a very handy thing indeed to know at Thanksgiving!
Another handy thing to know is this: When using Wine Away on fabrics and textiles (carpet, tablecloths, whatever), saturate the stain with the Wine Away and then leave it alone for 5 whole minutes. The product needs time to penetrate the stain and begin to break it down before you scrub or flush it with water. Think of it this way: If you don’t give it time to get in and mingle with the stain, you’re basically wiping the Wine Away off the fabric right after you applied it.
After that, go ahead and blot the stain with a damp light-colored rag until the stain is gone, repeating the process of saturating, letting the treatment penetrate, and blotting as needed. If the item is on the smaller side, like a linen napkin or item of clothing, holding it taut under cold running water can also help to flush out the stain.
One last thought to leave you with: Wine Away actually makes a great little hostess gift! This is especially true if you’re bringing red wine to a meal or party, or if you’re the person in charge of the cranberry sauce. “Oh Auntie Esmeralda, of course I brought my world-famous cranberry sauce and I also got you a little something in case of Uncle Herb, that total boob, spills it on your good tablecloth again this year.”