How to Clean Blood Stains
Posted on 11/02/2016
Best Methods to Remove Dried Blood Stains
Getting your clothes stained with blood is bad, but even worse can be the injury that has caused the stain. Before you worry about how you can get the blood off your clothes or elsewhere it may have landed, you need to worry about stopping the bleeding. Injuries and accidents may happen and in case you have cut yourself hard enough to bleed, you need to make sure you stop that.
Once you have taken care of the cut, you can turn your attention to cleaning the blood stain. Generally, this is a case of ‘looks worse than it actually is’. A blood stain is a frightening sight and may in fact lead you to believe that tossing the stained item is in fact the only solution. This is far from the truth, as there are effective stain removal techniques that you can use to great success.
How you deal with the challenge of blood stain removal mostly depends on whether the blood is fresh or it has dried out.
Cleaning fresh blood - getting to cleaning as soon as possible is your best bet for removing the stain without a trace.
- Rinse in cold water - the easiest solution for removing fresh blood is to rinse the item in cold water. This is mostly true for clothes, as you can easily put them under a stream of water. It is somewhat trickier when it comes to carpet cleaning or in case blood has ended up on your furniture. What you can do then is use a sponge dipped in cold water.
- Treat with hydrogen peroxide - hydrogen peroxide is a powerful tool that you can use on wet blood stains. Do note that it may bleach the item you are trying to clean. For this reason you should test it on a small inconspicuous spot first, to ensure the item can take the solution. Do not pour hydrogen peroxide without diluting it with 50% water first, in case of treating delicate fabrics. As you treat the stain, be careful not to let the foam spread outside the stained area. Wipe with a clean cloth and see if the blood stain has become faint enough. Apply more of the product if that is not the case. Proceed with cold water and detergent. Such cleaning service should easily get the stain off.
- Salt and water paste can clean delicate fabrics - any item that you cannot simply put in the washer, such as a mattress, can be cleaned with a water/salt paste-like compound. First rinse the item in cold water. Rub the fabric in order to release as much as of the stain as possible. Saturate the stained area with the paste. Rub it onto the area, in order to absorb the blood. Finish stain removal by putting the fabric through regular wash cycle.
Cleaning dry blood - even though it will be harder to remove blood once it has dried out, you can still use some effective methods:
- Rubbing with toothpaste - one method of removing dry blood on washable fabrics involves using toothpaste. Simply apply some toothpaste on the stained area, let it dry and rinse away with cold water. Finish cleaning by washing and repeat in case the stain is not gone.
- Meat tenderiser is a good tool to use on sturdy fabrics - since blood is an organic material, a meat tenderiser product can easily break it down. Fill a cup of cold water, dip the blood area and sprinkle with a single tablespoon of the product. Let it sit for a day and wash the item afterwards. Some dishwasher capsules and powder products can also be used for this purpose.
Cleaning blood is a scary task, but fortunately it is relatively easy to perform. Now that you know of these methods and techniques, you can feel less stressed about it.
