How To Remove Wine Stains From Your Vestments

As a means of introducing today's topic, let us begin by relating a true story of Convent's life. It was the final part of all-night vigil on the feast of Nativity. Nun Agrippina from our monastic vestry room was eagerly anticipating the liturgу to start in 2 hours. Suddenly, an altar server appeared. The look on his face was full of despair, and he seemed to be sending out distress signals everywhere. A huge wine stain covered the poor man's white Sticharion, and it was very obvious. He had to be back in altar in this Sticharion for the liturgy!

Nun Agrippina started the operation immediately. It was remarkably successful: the Sticharion was back in use in an hour.

So what did she do?

To begin with, here is a word of caution. There is no way to remove major stains without chemicals or detergents, but those we utilised were tested only on synthetic fabrics, used for most of our deacons' and altar servers' Sticharia. Other fabrics may need a different regimen, and it is best to test it first before proceeding: put some on an inconspicuous area of the garment and see what happens. Furthermore, pigment concentrations and potency in different wines vary, making some stains more difficult than others.

Last but not least, wine stains should be removed as soon as possible.

The express method

We used it to salvage the Sticharion in our story. The detergent that did the job was the same as in the previous article: ACE Ultragel Platinum from Procter and Gamble – a chlorine-based stain remover and bleach. Nun Agrippina has given it her stamp of approval: she found it effective on most stains, and also safe for most fabrics, if not left on it for too long.

If possible, put the garment on a hanger – that will make the cleaning much easier. Where the situation permits, it would be best to limit the operation to the affected side of the garment, thus minimizing the area to be rinsed afterwards. Undoing the side buttons may help. The detergent may leave white stains, so wear gloves and suitable clothing.

Take a clean piece of white cloth or a Teflon sponge, soak it in water and wet the stained area. After pouring about a tablespoon of detergent on the sponge, wait for the liquid to absorb and spread, then rub the stain with the sponge.

Observe how the stain loses colour. If necessary, rinse the sponge, add more detergent and repeat the process. As you will see from our video, this method gives a good result quickly. In our example, it took us only two repetitions to clean the altar server's Sticharion. Older stains may need more work.

When finished, wash the stained area thoroughly, and put it under a shower if necessary. You might want to wash the garment completely if you do not need it immediately. Sometimes, a detergent may leave a yellowish trace, and you can minimize this risk by washing your garment. In our example, the altar servant needed Sticharion urgently, so we dried it between two terry towels as much as possible before giving it back to the owner.

We have tried this method on most church garments in our vestry and fabrics of different colours. Your fabrics may be different, so we highly recommend testing the mix on a small section of the garment before using it on the stain. Chlorine can easily destroy pigments in some fabrics. Also, do not leave the bleach on the fabric for too long. If the stain does not disappear within 3-4 minutes, rinse and wait before repeating.

Method 2 – Using an oxygen-based bleach

Add one part of an oxygen-based bleach (e.g. Oxi clean) to one part of a detergent (we use Ariel). Any local brand of bleach will suit, but pay attention if it is for whites or colours. The ingredients should be mixed together and water should be added until the mixture reaches a paste-like consistency. Put on the stained area and leave for ten minutes. Keep the mixture on the stain until the stain disappears completely. Stir periodically. Rinse thoroughly when finished. Wash the item in a washing machine at your earliest possibility.

Overall, modern bleaches and detergents can free up your time for many worthwhile pursuits. We hope you found these tips useful. We will cover the whole washing process in our next mailings.

Seeing is believing. We have uploaded the whole process on Youtube. ...and did our best to translate nun Agrippina's story for you:

We hope this articled was of practical use for you and look forward to your feedback, suggestions and personal experience.

Have a blessed Lenten journey!