Rachel Avery Community Editor

Whether it is muddy paw prints on a rug or a split glass of red wine on the sofa, knowing the best option for your cleaning task or fabric type isn’t always obvious.

But when Eve Smallman tested the market’s leading brands and natural cleaners, Telegraph readers had a lot to say about what actually works. Many insist that rather than dashing to the supermarket for a specialist spray promising miraculous results, the best solutions are often already sitting in your cupboards at home.

Here are your hacks and tips for tackling stubborn upholstery stains.

Household hacks

While some readers prefer a catch-all stain removal product (you’ll find their favourites below), many have a surprising number of alternative solutions that they claim work just as effectively and sometimes better.

Removing ink stains

One of the most common reader recommendations was alcohol-based hand gel for removing Biro and ink marks. Reader Rose Sweetland says: “I discovered during lockdown that hand gel is brilliant at removing permanent marker and other ink stains. It also removes sticky residue from tape.”

Kimberly Sims also advises to “always place something behind the ink stained fabric, if possible, to allow the stain to ‘go through’. Keep going, over a couple of days, if the stain has dried in”.

Hairspray also works for removing Biro or whiteboard pens, according to Sam Thomas. You can also use “WD40 first and then wash it out”, she explains.

Another tip comes from reader Jill Davidson who says: “Milk will completely dissolve a Biro stain.”

When Davidson asked a colleague for advice on removing Biro from her pale blue skirt, milk was suggested: “I went home that evening, put some milk on some cotton wool and rubbed at the mark. It worked! Once the skirt had been through the wash, it was as good as new.”

For furniture, Jill recommends trying cotton buds dipped in milk, which avoids getting too much milk into the fabric.

Remedies for red wine stains

Red wine is easily one of the hardest stains to remove from any fabric, but these readers have plenty of advice on how to act fast and prevent a lasting reminder of any spillage.

Philip Thomas, 66, from Conwy County Borough, first discovered his bleach spray hack for removing red wine stains by chance. “It’s been a while since I used bleach spray to clean a red wine stain, so I carried out a test on an old towel,” he explains.

Make sure to absorb the wine as much as possible with a kitchen towel first, then spray the area with bleach. “It was allowed to soak for a while and the wine turned a brownish colour. The area was then rubbed with a damp cloth.”

An accidental red wine spill on a ski weekend many years ago was where Edward Langille, 67, from Nova Scotia in Canada, first learned the power of soda water.

When a “tipsy guest spilt red wine in the lap of a friend’s expensive ivory wool suit, the situation was about to ruin the evening until a trip to the kitchen saved the day”, he recalls.

“The hostess dabbed the red wine stain with a clean white cloth, then doused it with soda water (no sugar) and finally rinsed it with cold water. The stain lifted immediately with no trace and the suit dried by the fire.”

Ever since, Langille has “flown into action to eliminate red wine spills” using soda water on everything from table linens, carpets and furniture.

“Soft furnishings are tricky because one has to soak the stain with the soda water,” he explains and make sure to remove cushions from their cover first.

“To prevent a watermark on upholstery, it is important to rinse carefully and to remove as much water as possible with paper towelling,” he concludes.

Tackling grease, food and blood stains

Grease and oil stains can also be troublesome, especially on leather sofas. Isabel Reeves recently discovered the effectiveness of medical alcohol spray: “You need to ventilate the room, but the stains really go. I will use it to wipe over monthly from now on.”

Trina Miliam holds a similar view, recommending saddle soap for removing general dirt and hair grease stains, which works particularly well on her cream leather sofa.

Perhaps the most unexpected recommendation was micellar water, usually associated with removing make-up rather than upholstery mishaps.

From tomato sauce to baked beans and ketchup, reader Lindy Lou has tried Garnier Micellar Water on some of the toughest food stains.

She discovered this hack when she was in hospital: “So much more food fell into the ‘drop zone’.”

“You need to use it soon after you drop something,” she says, and “it works as a pre-wash treatment” too.

You can find the best deals on Amazon and make sure to buy “the plain ordinary one, not the one with moisturiser”, she adds.

Many readers were perplexed about how to remove blood stains, but one reader, Monica Stansfeld, 73, insists that hydrogen peroxide works best, either on fresh or dried blood, however “it does have a bleaching action”, she warns, “so is best used on a white or light coloured cloth”.

If you have a look in your local pharmacy, you can “usually find a three per cent solution for cleaning dentures”, she explains.

Lots of cold water, still or running, can also “flush out fresh blood”, just as well, or if the stain is small, “your own saliva will remove it”.

Best sprays on the shelves

Not everyone is against shop-bought cleaning products. For tougher stains and everyday mishaps, readers return to a handful of trusted brands that are praised for their reliability and ease of use.

Most readers agreed with one of Smallman’s recommendations – Dr. Beckmann Carpet Stain Remover – as the product they return to, including Catherine Francis, 64, from Conwy County Borough. She commended its ability to “tackle pet stains brilliantly, even on a light-coloured carpet”.

“I always have a bottle on standby,” Francis says, “it’s simple to use and removes odours as well as stains.”

Reader Mariette Hubert also favours the brand for dealing with stains left by her Irish Setter, Teddy, instead preferring its Pet Stain and Odour remover: “For doggie stains, it’s the uncontested star.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without it,” she explains. “It’s the only cleaner that properly cleans wee, poo and vomit stains (yes, lovely) and also takes the smell away.

“If I tell you Teddy always has a turmeric capsule prior to breakfast, you can appreciate how truly miraculous this cleaning spray is,” she adds.

“The rugs, once dried, look exactly the way they did before the accident.”

Others recommend Astonish as a budget-friendly option, with a range of “brilliant” carpet and upholstery sprays , according to reader Sharon Fowkes, and even a stain remover bar, which Jack Milson insists “never fails”.

HG Stain Remover is another worthy mention and highlighted by Penny Fortham as “excellent”.

“It works on both carpet and soft furnishings,” she explains, “whether tea, coffee, tar, blood and even soot, after a jackdaw came down the chimney.”

Fortham recalls one occasion when the stain remover “successfully removed all traces of a full cup of steaming hot tea accidentally dropped on our ivory-coloured bedroom carpet”.

For greasy stains, Juliet Evans recommends Elbow Grease and for spot removal, Suzanne Baxter suggests trying White Wonder from Lakeland: “It lasts a long time too.”