Tips & tricks how to best treat your clothes.

Explore these tips:

• How to prevent lint and pilling on delicate wool fabrics?
• Wash inside out or not?
• Why do you need a mesh laundry bag?
• How to remove red wine stains?
• How to wash silk and wool correctly?
• How to wash sportswear correctly?

Red wine stains are easiest to remove if you tackle them straight after the spill. To do this, dab the stain until it is dry with a piece of paper towel, for example. Then, rinse the red wine stain under cold, running water before placing the item of clothing into the washing machine.

Sparkling mineral water is a good alternative for removing stains if you do not have immediate access to running water. Pour it onto the stain and dab the wetted area until the carbonic acid from the water has completely dissolved the red wine out of the fabric fibres and the stain has disappeared. Then, wash the item of clothing as usual in the washing machine.

Alternatively, fresh red wine stains can be treated using salt or starch flour/potato flour. Pour enough salt or flour onto the stain to completely cover it. Once the salt or flour has absorbed the red wine, brush it off the item of clothing and wash the clothing in the machine.

You can also soak white fabrics in milk or buttermilk. Lactic acid is a relatively strong acid and will bleach the red wine stain.

Use dry shampoo to remove fresh red wine stains from delicate and easily damaged fabrics such as cashmere, silk, viscose and wool. To do this spray the stain with shampoo and, once the red wine has been absorbed, brush it off the item of clothing.

The best way to remove red wine stains that have already dried is with washing powder and cold water. To do this, dissolve a tablespoon of washing powder in 2 litres of cold water and immerse the red wine stain in the water. Rub the stain with your fingers (or alternatively, for more hard-wearing fabrics, you can use a toothbrush or nail brush) so that the washing powder solution really penetrates the fabric. Leave the item of clothing to soak for approx. 1 hour, before rinsing it with cold water and then washing it in the washing machine.

Instead of washing powder, you can alternatively use a solution of water and liquid soap or washing-up liquid to soak your clothing. Proceed exactly as described above.

Due to the acid content, old red wine stains can also be effectively removed using white wine or champagne. The carbonic acid in champagne helps the stain to dissolve even more effectively. To use this method, pour white wine or champagne liberally over the stain and leave it to act for approx. 20 minutes. Then, rinse the item of clothing with cold water and wash it as usual in the washing machine.

Red wine stains that have already dried can also be treated with lemon juice or vinegar. As the acid could affect the colour of the fabric, this method should only be used for light-coloured items of clothing. Sprinkle pure lemon juice or vinegar onto the stain and leave it to act for a few minutes. Then, use a clean cloth to dab the stain off the item of clothing, rinse the clothing with clean water and place it in the washing machine as usual.

For particularly stubborn red wine stains, you could try a very dilute chlorine-based cleaning product as a last resort. Please note that this kind of product has a powerful bleaching effect and should therefore only be used on white fabrics. You should also test the fabric beforehand to see whether it can withstand this aggressive household product. Once you have tested it, soak the item of clothing in a mixture of water and a drop of this product for approx. 1 hour. Then, rinse it in cold, clean water and wash it in the washing machine.

To remove old red wine stains from cashmere, silk or viscose, you can use either pure alcohol from the chemist or cleaning solvent. To do this, pour a little of the product onto a clean cloth and dab the stain until it disappears.

Alternatively, you can also treat these materials with a mixture comprising one part ammonia solution to ten parts water. Soak the item of clothing for approx. 1 hour, before rinsing it with cold water and then washing it as usual.

For delicate woollen fabrics, you can dissolve out red wine stains that have already dried using a paste made from starch flour/potato flour and cold water. Leave this to act on the stain for approx. 20 minutes, and then rinse the wool thoroughly with water.