How to Get Red Wine Stains Out of Painted Walls Using Only Two Household Cleaners:
So we’ve all been there – we’ll possibly mostly me…- but that awkward moment where you realize that you’ve splished, splashed, and spilled red wine on something else. The struggle is totally real. As a frequent contributor to the population of wine stains, I’ve done more than my fair share having to get them out. Of pretty much everything at this point… and Spoiler Alert: I’m actually really good at it. So here it is: step by step instructions on how to get red wine out of literally, everything. New chapters coming as often as I commit new atrocities, and drop me a comment if you have a stain I haven’t addressed here yet. A hundred bucks says I’ve done it and cleaned it, and I’m excited to share the odd domestic skill set only a true wino (or wineaux, lol.) would ever have the chance to cultivate. I can’t decide if I’m proud of this, but at least I can help others out of their pickles.
So this is Chapter 4 in the series I’m calling “The Red Wine Stain-Removal Bible” staring my most recent episode involving the better part of a bottle of wine, the marvel of physics and the wall in my hallway.
This one is truly a masterpiece. We enjoyed an evening of wine drinking on the patio, I came in to vacuum seal what was left of the bottle, and the bottle slid out of my hand. When it hit the floor, it did not shatter thank goodness, but the angle was just right that the wine got catapulted across ENTIRE hallway wall… It was true modern art – the wrath of the grapes splatter painted across my entire hallway. Nice job, Maddy. I totally should have photoed it at the time, but knowing I could get it off, I wiped up the bulk, said “screw it” and went to bed.
Step 1: Make the Magic Paste
The next day, what was left were these sad purple stains running down my whole wall. I manipulated the photo some so you could see the full magnitude of my most recent fail, but it was truly ridiculous in person. But have no fear! This too, can be cleaned to look like it never even happened! So before you head to the paint store, give this a shot. After all, what do you really have to lose? That wall is probably pretty jacked up already.
So you need two simple household products, Hydrogen Peroxide
Considering magnitude of my mess, I used a whole box of baking soda
You want the consistency to be similar to a pancake batter. If it’s not, add more of whichever ingredient to thicken or thin it accordingly.
Step 2: Smear the magic paste all over your wine stains.
Get a CLEAN white wash cloth
Lay it on the wall over the stains as thickly as possible. Don’t bother scrubbing, you’ll just make a mess. If your floors are sensitive to chemicals or abrasive things or if you have carpet, I would lay down a towel to catch the pieces that don’t stay stuck to the wall. In hindsight, I would have put painters tape over the crease between the floor boards and the kick molding. It was kind of a pain to wipe out back out of that crease… just food for thought.
Step 3: Leave.
Now, leave. Go take a nap, shower, cook dinner, catch up on your favorite Netflix show, deal with your hangover, whatever. This mystical chemistry experiment needs at least a half hour to penetrate and draw out the stain. And don’t worry about leaving it longer.
Step 4: Clean the paste off the wall.
After you waited, take your well-rinsed wash cloth and soak it with hydrogen peroxide
Use your peroxide rag to wipe off the now dried paste in circle motions. It’s going to crumble and fall all over the floor, so if you didn’t lay down a towel or something earlier, you’re probably going to be missing it at this point. Rinse the rag out frequently. If you find any spots that still need some time, take some re-wet paste and smash it over those spots and continue giving it time.
Once the bulk is down and you’re confident there are no more stains, you get to start cleaning off what’s left of the baking soda. At this point, switch to water because it’s cheaper. It took me about three rounds of doing the wall with water until I was confident that I got all of the baking soda residue off.
And wallah! Wall saved! My husband even commented that it was cleaner than it was before the wine! And it got all finger prints and stuff too. I’m thinking about trying this method on the staircase walls to see if they too can be salvaged from the grime.
So there you have it, how to get red wine off painted walls. Our walls have a Sherwin Williams paint on them. I used this once in a wall in an apartment we lived in, but I have no idea what brand of paint that was, I’m guessing cheap. If you’re worried about the wall, I would try it in an inconspicuous spot to be safe. But considering there’s wine all over your wall, I’d say you’re screwed either way. So WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE!? Lol!
So thanks for reading. As always, new chapters of the bible will be added as I commit new atrocities – which happens nearly every day it seems… Got a wine stain or spill you don’t know what to do with? Drop me a line! If you come up with a wine stain I haven’t seen yet, I owe you a bottle! But I’m guessing there isn’t one, trust me…
Wanna Learn to Get Red Wine Out of Other Things?Click the image to see other How-Tos!
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This is amazing! Had a clumsy spill ALL over my apartments white painted walls. Came to the conclusion that I would need to repaint them before I moved out – until I came across this post. Worked like a charm! Thank you for sharing!!
You just saved my life! One evening, I accidentally spilled wine over my apartment bedroom’s wall. I tried all of the online tips like wiping with water, hydrogen peroxide and bleach but nothing worked. Then I tried this a few weeks later and OMG the wall is so clean, you can’t even tell that an accident happened. Looks even better than before to be honest. Thank you for your crafty lifesaving tips!
Yay! I knew this would help other people! I’m such a klutz, so becoming the stain queen was all I could do to keep my husband from banning red wine! Lol! Thanks for the great feedback!
Thank you so much for this. This actually worked. And I’m so greatful to you. You are a “wall” saver 🙂
Managed to spill red wine on the ceiling with flat paint and a fabric blind. It worked on both surfaces. This worked so incredibly well, the whole family rejoiced! THANK YOU!
Thank you! Spilled some wine across my newly painted kitchen walls – used this and it is perfectly restored!
Amazing, I managed to get red wine on the ceiling! I had given up trying to remove it so I was gobsmacked This actually worked. So well infact it looks better than the rest of the ceiling. Cheers
This was a life saver to me!!! A glass of red wine tipped over and splashed the wall and my newly painted white baseboard…i followed your instructions, left it on for about an hour and a half and wiped off…you would never know anything was spilled…thank you so much!!!
Thank you! After a very messy accident at home, this guide saved the day
You are a wall saver!!! Thank you sooooo much for sharing!!
I can’t thank you enough! Our daughter opened a bottle of red wine and it exploded all over the ceiling and walls in the kitchen/hallway. We though she had completely cleaned it (after having consumed too much red wine) and 6 months later our 6’2” son came to visit and asked us what was all over the ceiling. We tried your “recipe” , it worked great! Thank goodness, because we’re selling our condo now and we won’t be embarrassed by a potential buyer noticing it! Thanks!
Thank you! I’m so glad I found your post. This really worked!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
You haven’t mentioned what strength peroxide to use does it matter if it’s 3% or 11% ? Also does it have to be baking soda ?
3%
THANK YOU!!! I had already tried other methods and was afraid I’d have to repaint with a not-exact wall paint. You’re my heroine! Much appreciation!
Thanks so much for posting this guide. Totally worked and saved me reprinting a wall!
This worked like a charm!! Well done!
Thank you so much!!!! I was just pushing a piece of furniture against the stained wall, when I thought I’d google again and try to find a solution (the first one I googled didn’t work). You’re AWESOME!!!! I had a huge long stain and it worked–YAY!!
Amazing, amazing, amazing!!! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful solution. I thought I would have to cover the stain with furniture. I googled for a solution and tried one to no avail, but decided to google again, and found your solution. Worked perfectly! You’re AWESOME!
Help! Yesterday, my wife dropped a bunch of chocolate on the floor. As we were cleaning that up, she sent my wine glass flying and got red wine everywhere. We mostly got it clean, but the wallpaper is still a bit messy. Any advice would be welcome. I stayed remarkably calm through all of this…but then while we were cleaning up the red wine, she knocked my 4 day old birthday present from my parents over and broke it. I confess to a few expletives. As I write this, I realise it is comedic, but it’s not far enough in the past for me to really laugh about. The presents my parents give me are usually appreciated for the thought, but I really liked this one.
I hope you get to a point where you can laugh about it, but I totally understand how frustrating it can be!
I would try a very small hidden spot before continuing with the rest, taking special care around any wallpaper seams or where it meets the baseboards or ceiling. That stuff is very finicky, and it depends a lot on the quality of the paper, the finish on it, and the adhesive backing. It’ll pretty much always peel off when you don’t want it to, and is impossible to remove when you want it gone! If it can’t be cleaned, you’re replacing it anyways, so there’s no harm in trying this and any other idea before throwing the towel in.
Good luck! Let me know how it goes!
Omg yass Bitch! I spilled some red wine and was shooketh then tried ur recipe and then boom! Fixed. Ty bestie