There are few things that will send a clean freak into a nervous breakdown like a red wine stain: red, red wine, when it's spilled on the table and running onto the carpet, doesn't make you feel so fine. No matter what UB40 says.

But, luckily, there is hope. Take it from me, I'm an expert in stains.

Now, my self-proclaimed "expert status" isn't because I spill a lot of red wine. If I feel like there's going to be a spill, I'm not above using a sippy cup as intervention. Instead, my status is deserved because I have a dog with a penchant for confusing the living room with the outside lawn. On occasion I can catch her before she stains my carpet – her sniffing around or asking for a magazine (Dog Fancy) are sure signs that she's about to leave a mark – but more often than not, she shows her love for me in piles…large, stinky piles.

Though red wine and dog accidents aren't made up of the same ingredients, at least not until my dog starts spilling her wine, they both stain, and stain quickly. Yet, red wine may be the worst of the two evils. It seems to flock to white carpet like a moth to a flame.

Still, even the reddest of wines on the whitest of carpet isn't the end of the world. There are ways to get rid of red wine stains…and you might not even have to move the furniture in a "cover up operation" to do so.

Act Quickly: Picture this – you're hosting a dinner party and out of the corner of your eye you see a glass of wine begin to fall to its death. You yell "Noo-oooo," and dive to save it, shoving your great grandmother out of the way in the process. No matter how quick you are, the wine is quicker and you suddenly realize it's too late: you shrug your shoulders, refill the glass, and state that you'll clean the stain up later.

As noble as your acts of intervention were, saving the stain for later is where you are making your mistake. Stains are most likely to be removed when they are fresh: the longer they sit, the stronger they become. Instead of waiting till the party is over, take a few minutes and get to the carpet before it drinks the wine in…and asks for another.