Top Tips For Wine Stained Linen

Whether you are a hotel, restaurant, catering company or kitchen, there are few things as important for the function and appearance of your business as your linen. Be it a tablecloth, serviette, bedsheet or bathrobe, providing your guests with clean, high-quality linen is a must.

Of course, during busy service hours, frantic periods and large bookings, accidents can occur and spillages happen. One of the most notoriously inconvenient spills is red wine onto white linen.

Perhaps a careless diner has spilt their drink across a table, or a hotel guest has knocked a glass onto their bathrobe. No matter the cause, to keep your linen looking great, you’ll want to remove the stain at some point.

There are many wives’ tales and traditions claiming to know the secret to getting rid of red wine stains, but here are Stalbridge Linen Service’s top tips.

Boiling Water

Let’s start simple. A common technique used for removing red wine stains from linen such as tablecloths is using boiling water to draw a stain out of the linen.

For this method, take a large bowl or water vessel and stretch your stained linen over the top so that the point with the wine on is in the centre. Secure the linen to the bowl using rubber bands or string to ensure it is pulled tight and the stain is wholly visible.

Next, bring a kettle of water to the boil and pour the hot water over the stained fabric. The boiling liquid should work to break down the stain and wash it out of the linen and into the bowl below.

White Vinegar

Another somewhat unorthodox method of fighting red wine stains, is to use white vinegar. To use this method, you will need to pour the vinegar directly onto the stain and allow it to soak through.

Once the vinegar has been applied, add a small quantity of laundry detergent, allowing the two liquids to mix together. Leave the linen to soak for around 30 minutes before rinsing with cold water. Just lille magic, your stain should be gone.

This technique works as the vinegar counteracts the coloured pigments in red wine whilst the detergent washes the fabric clean.

Table Salt Or Baking Soda

Another old trick that can work to remove stains from linen and carpets is salt. Whilst it might sound odd, there is science behind it. As with any red wine stain, if you’re to stand any chance of removing it, you have to act fast.

If you have salt on-hand, fetch it immediately. Next, use a generous quantity to cover the stain entirely. You will need to leave the salt until it has absorbed all of the wine from the carpet or linen. Watch for the salt becoming a red or pink colour as this is a good indicator of its effectiveness.

Finally, use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the salt. If the process has worked, the stain will be gone!

Use A Professional Laundry Service

When it comes to the care and laundry of your favrics, the surest way to have fresh, clean, linen is to use the services of a commercial laundry service.

For all of your businesses linen hire and laundry needs, look no further than Stalbridge Linen Service. We offer specialist linen hire and laundry services for hotels, kitchens and restaurants across the UK.

Get in touch today! Call us on 0800 093 9933 or send an email to enquiries@johnsons-stalbridge.com.