Stain Study Solution: Neither Salt nor White Wine
Friday, 25 January, 2002
Melvyn Minnaar
Clearing up an old wives tale
Well, it’s official: pouring salt on that red carpet stain when the cabernet so ungraciously left the glass, is an old wives tale. And wasting the chenin to remove that pinotage tinge from the silk chemise is simple folly.
The only way to get rid of red wine stains is to use an effective, commercial wine-stain remover – not something on South African shelves. (Don’t we spill enough wine on our clothes?) And the other way is judicious use of yes, soap and a mild bleach.
One of the world’s top wine institutions, the University of California Davis in the USA has just published a study report that gives the final word on the problem that each and every wine drinker has faced at one time or another.
Working under Professor Andrew Waterhouse, one of that university’s top oenology stars, a student project tested eight different cleaners, including commercial product as well as folklore solutions such as pouring white wine and salt on the soiled fabric. They tested the cleaners on cotton, a polyester-cotton blend, nylon and silk.
Two sets were tested with different time treatments, two minutes after the spill and 24 hours later. After washing a, so-called, Colorimeter was used to measure the residual stain. Cotton was the easiest to clean, silk the most difficult and virtually impossible after some time.
Salt and white wine proved non-effective (other than marginally on nylon), the best method being a blend of equal parts hydrogen-peroxide bleach and liquid soap.
So there you have it. Obviously the best solution is to spit, swirl or sip more carefully. But accidents do happen.
* PS. Personal experience shows that getting that white shirt into water pronto is a good idea – but perhaps a little tricky at a formal black-tie function!
By: Melvyn Minnaar
Email: minnaar@gem.co.za