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 and Baking Soda, and some good old fashioned patience to clean this up.

 

 

Considering magnitude of my mess, I used a whole box of baking soda. I’d guesstimate that you need an eighth of a box per square foot of wall, but extra won’t ever hurt you. You need about half the volume of peroxide as 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 to use to apply the paste to the wall. I buy these White Dishcloths in bulk since they’re great for everything.

 

 

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. If you have sensitive skin, or even if you don’t, I recommend wearing gloves because peroxide dries out the top layer of skin.

 

 

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!