When red wine gets spilled, everyone immediately shouts for copious quantities of white wine to “neutralise” the stain – but does it work?

The answer is no. In fact, flooding the red wine with white wine will only make the stain spread and penetrate the carpet further.

Don’t be tempted to cover the spilt red wine with salt either.

Although it may soak up some of the wine, salt can actually make red wine stains permanent (think about how you have to add salt when you dye clothes to make the new colour ‘fast’).

The best course of action? Immediately blot up as much of the wine as possible by pressing firmly over the spill with a clean cloth or kitchen towels until all the liquid has been removed from the carpet.

Next, tip a small amount of cold water on to the stain (plain, fizzy water or soda water is even better as the the bubbles will help to ‘lift’ the stain out of the carpet fibres) — and, using a fresh towel or cloth, blot again.