Red Wine, Oil and Ink: What to Do Before You Bring It In

Most stains that cannot be removed were removable at the time. What made them permanent was something done in the first few minutes, or the garment sitting in a hamper for three weeks.

The two rules that matter most

Blot, never rub. Rubbing pushes the stain deeper into the fibre and spreads it outward, and on many fabrics it also abrades the surface so there is a dull patch left even after the colour comes out. Press a clean white cloth down, lift, move to a clean part of the cloth, repeat.

Never apply heat. Heat sets most stains permanently, particularly anything protein or sugar based. That means no hair dryer, no hot water, no ironing over it, and crucially no tumble dryer. A stained garment that goes through a hot dryer is usually finished.

Use a white cloth

Coloured cloths and printed paper towels transfer dye into wet fabric. You can turn one stain into two. Plain white only.

By stain type

Red wine. Blot immediately. Do not reach for salt or white wine, which are folk remedies that mostly add another substance for someone to remove later. Blot and bring it in.

Oil and grease. Do not add water, which spreads it. Blot gently. Tell us it is oil, because oil responds to solvent and is one of the things dry cleaning genuinely does well.

Ink. Do not use hairspray or alcohol at home. Both frequently spread ink into a much larger halo that is harder to treat than the original mark.

Blood. Cold water only. Hot water cooks the protein into the fibre and sets it permanently.

Makeup and foundation. Do not rub. Lift any solid material off with the edge of a card, then leave it.

Perspiration and deodorant. These are the invisible ones. They oxidise and turn yellow over time, so the damage happens in the wardrobe rather than on the day. Send things in rather than storing them.

Sugar based, champagne, cake icing, clear soda. Dries invisible, oxidises brown in storage over one to three years. This is the reason wedding dresses need attention promptly.

Tell us what it was

This is the single most useful thing you can do, and it costs nothing. Different stains need genuinely different treatments, and an unidentified stain gets a cautious general approach rather than the right one.

If you do not know what it was, say roughly when it happened and what you were doing. That is usually enough to narrow it down.

And do not wait

Time is the other enemy. Oil oxidises, sugar caramelises, and dye migrates. A three day old stain is a substantially better prospect than a three week old one.

Bring it in

Call 954 983 7519 or request a free pickup. We will tell you honestly what we think can be removed before we start. See our dry cleaning page.

La Mar 1 Hour Dry Cleaners, 6430 Pembroke Rd, Miramar, FL 33023. Family run since 1962.