Red wine is a go-to drink to kick back with on an evening for many people, but it can be a royal pain if you accidentally slosh some over yourself or your carpet. While the wine is favoured for its rich, dark fruit flavour, its bold colour makes it particularly troublesome when it comes to spillages. Red wine contains tannins - natural compounds that act as binding agents - and pigments which bind to fabric fibres, which make it very difficult to remove. The longer a red wine stain sits on the carpet or on your clothes, the more tannins and pigments bond with the fibres, meaning you’ll have to work even harder to get it out.

While it may be tempting to scrub furiously at a red wine stain to try and get it out, cleaning experts strongly advise against this. Rubbing will only push the stain deeper into the fabric and make it more difficult to get out - and it can also cause the stain to spread even further.

Instead, the best thing to do is first to blot the stain with a clean cloth or paper towel to absorb the excess liquid and prevent the stain from spreading.

After this, it’s advised that you apply a generous amount of milk to the stain until it is completely covered and then allow this to sit for around one hour. 

This option is best if you have a wine spillage on your carpet, but if it’s on your clothes it may be easier to put your stained garment into a bowl and then completely submerge it in milk to soak.

Once the stain has been thoroughly soaked, blot it up with a dry cloth or paper towel and then rinse with cold water. If the stain is on your clothing then you should wash it in the washing machine as normal once you’ve completed the above steps.

Laundry Heap explains: “There are two ways that you can lift a red wine stain using milk. The first method is to pour the milk directly over the stain, allowing it to fully soak into the fabric, before blotting it with a clean cloth or paper towel. Your stain should be completely lifted after less than an hour. Wash your clothing as normal to remove the excess liquid. 

"The second method is best if your red wine stain covers a larger surface area. Pour your milk into a large bowl and completely submerge your item into it. Leave it to soak for around an hour, before removing it from the milk and washing it as you usually would.”

Milk has absorbent properties due to its high fat content and acts as a solvent, allowing it to break down and lift wine molecules out of fabrics.

For particularly stubborn stains it can be worth boiling the milk first before applying it as the heat further enhances its ability to dissolve and absorb the wine, making it even more effective.

Laundry detergent firm Kair adds: “After boiling a potful of milk and letting it cool, soak the stained item in a milky bath for about 30 minutes, before rinsing with cool, clean water. Milk works as a solvent due to its absorbent properties - the higher the fat content, the more effective the stain-removal.”