It can happen to anyone… one moment you’re chatting animatedly with your friend about the latest episode of Dancing with the Stars and the next you’re observing your almost-full glass of 2016 vintage British Columbia VQA Cabernet-Sauvignon majestically sailing through the air en-route to a nasty collision with your cream coloured broadloom living room carpet You and your friend stare silently for several beats, mouths agape. One of you mutters “Don’t panic.”

You both proceed to panic. You rush to grab an armload of cloths, towels, old socks from the dirty laundry, your Persian cat… anything mildy absorbent. Your friend whips out her smartphone and finds this page online… Sound familiar?

The good news is that if the correct steps are taken right away, we can all forget this ever happened and get back to the TV show. Let’s take five deep calming breaths and get started.

You will need:

– Several absorbent cloths (or some ugly towels that you didn’t like anyway).

– A bottle of Dri-Way’s famous Non-Toxic Spot Remover.*

– A large coffee table book (we’re serious).

1. Time to get down and press your first cloth onto the stain. The goal is to absorb as much wine as possible, being careful to apply steady pressure. Resist the urge to wipe from side to side. Continue blotting with new cloths until no more wine transfers into the dry cloth.

2. Next, take your bottle of Non-Toxic Spot Remover and mix it 1:8 with cold water in a mixing bowl. Dampen a fresh cloth with the solution and repeat the blotting process with a moistened cloth (after testing in an inconspicuous area). You can lightly rub down the carpet fibres, always moving toward the centre of the mark, never outward. Step on the cloth to increase the pressure. Continue this process until no more wine is transferring to the cloth.

3. Finally, dampen another cloth with the solution and lay it completely flat over the entire stain. Ensure there are no folds or wrinkles. Take several clean, dry cloths (or that ugly towel) and lay them one by one completely flat on top. Here’s where that coffee table book comes in: Lay it on the towels, then proceed to find anything heavy to leave on top; e.g. That set of dumbells nobody ever uses, that 30 year-old stack of National Geographic magazines, or aunt Myrtles fruit cake. The more weight the better. Leave this on for 24 hours then take a look!

This method removes many common wine stains on most fabrics, but results vary widely. There are more advanced home remedies but hey, you’re not a chemist and you got some Dancing with the Stars to catch up on.

*Don’t have a bottle of our famous Non Toxic Spot Remover yet? Just email us at info@wordpress-719199-2390357.cloudwaysapps.com and we’ll get a FREE bottle to you right away. Can’t wait? For a substitute, try mixing one teaspoon of mild hand dishwashing fluid (without skin conditioners) into a cup of cold water.