In the last 50 years wall-to-wall carpeting has been the overwhelming choice as a floor covering in homes. Carpets provide a warmth, elegance and beauty that cannot be surpassed. If you can imagine that you are having a party for some of your friends and family. The atmosphere is bubbling with the excitement of everyone chatting and mingling with each other, when suddenly disaster strikes.

Your worst fear has just happened; a glass of red wine has taken a swan dive and landed not on your tile floor where it is easy to clean up but on to your new white carpet. Having red wine spill on your carpet while you are entertaining can be your worst fear because it leaves an ugly red stain but in many cases it's not as bad as it seems. If you have a few common household products there is an easy solution.

What you don't want to do is saturate the Red Wine stain with different cleaning compounds because some compounds will set the stain permanently into the carpet. For the same reason don't apply heat to the stain.

When trying to get a Red Wine stain out you should blot with a clean white cloth or paper towels. Blot from the outside edges towards the center of the stain. Do not scrub or rub the stain vigorously because it is possible to damage or change the texture of the fabric permanently. Also you could make the stain go deeper into the carpet or upholstery and even if it appears to have been removed by this process it is possible it will reappear later. Removing a Red Wine stain as soon as you see it is very important. The longer it is in the carpet the harder it is to remove.

Mix one teaspoon of a neutral dish detergent (Dawn dishwashing liquid soap) with a cup of hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle. Spray it on the stain and let it sit as a pre-soak. Neither of these ingredients works by itself (you must use both).You'll actually see the Red Wine disappear as it sprays on the stain. Blot this area.

Repeat step one with the neutral detergent to remove any stain that might still appear to be in the carpet or upholstery. Rinse with tap water using a spray bottle, blot to remove any excess moisture or use a wet/dry vac to remove as much of the moisture as possible.

If there is still some stain on the carpet and blotting is not removing it, then moisten the tufts in the stained area with water and pour salt on the damp area. Salt will absorb any residue left in the carpet and then you just vacuum up the salt the next day.

In most cases this will get your carpet looking new again and ready for your next party.