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How to Remove Blood Stains from Fabric

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(252 Ratings)
Blood stains are tough to get out.
Blood stains are tough to get out.

There are a lot of different ways one can stain his or her clothes by accident, and one of the toughest ones to get out is a blood stain. If you get blood on your clothing, don't worry. With patience and diligence, you can remove any trace.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • Laundry detergent
  • Bucket
  • Salt
  • White paper towels
  • Ammonia
  • Sponge
  • Stain Remover

    Initial Treatment

  1. Step 1

    Blot the stain immediately with paper towels. If it is a dry clean only garment make sure you do not pretreat the stain and get it as fast as you can to the cleaners. Pretreatment of the stain can cause irreversable damage and the dry cleaner may not be able to remove the stain.

  2. Step 2

    Combine 1 teaspoon laundry soap or pretreatment (or dish soap, like Dawn) and 1 cup hydrogen peroxide in a small bowl. Soak a clean sponge in the mixture, squeeze it halfway dry, then gently blot the stain.

  3. Step 3

    Review the washing instructions on the label of the fabric. Heed any special care instructions.

  4. Step 4

    Wash in cool water and air dry if the fabric is machine-washable. Using a laundry additive such as Oxy Clean may help.

  5. Step 5

    Wash gently in the sink with a mild detergent like Woolite if the fabric is hand-wash only.

  6. Step 6

    Air dry. Do not use your dryer. The heat can make the stain set in if it does not come out the first time you try to clean it. If you air dry it and it does not come out you still have the option to take it to your cleaners because the stain has not set in.

  7. Persistent stains: Washable fabrics

  8. Step 1

    Sponge the stain lightly with a solution of equal parts ammonia and water.

  9. Step 2

    Apply a laundry pre-treatment, such as stain remover or detergent.

  10. Step 3

    Launder as usual.

  11. Step 4

    Air dry.

  12. Persistent Stains: Dry-cleanable fabrics

  13. Step 1

    Sponge stain lightly with a solution of equal parts water and ammonia.

  14. Step 2

    Rinse fabric in cool water.

  15. Step 3

    Brush spot with a dry towel from the center of the stain out, using light strokes, blending wet into dry. Force moist area to dry from outside in, using a hairdryer or dry towel.

Tips & Warnings
  • Try not to subject the stain to heat until it is completely lifted.
  • Do not attempt this process if your clothes are linen, silk, or wool. Wetting these fabrics with any liquid especially with water can leave water spots that are almost impossible to remove. With any dry clean garment one can never be sure how a fabric was pretreated or colorfast. If you try to clean these garments yourself you may end up with shrinkage, color bleeding or odd spots on the fabric. Always consult your dry cleaner if you have a question.

Comments  

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on 6/30/2009 Kay, I just thought I'd add to this.

I got some blood on my white bedsheet because evidently, my finger prick hadn't stopped bleeding.

I spit on it, and rubbed it with my finger. Now it's dry, and it's like it never happened.

So I found an old blood stain, that has possibly been washed and dried several times, spit on it, and it's fading!

Seriously, the people who promote the saliva technique are genius!

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on 10/3/2008 I can concur with Miss E that nothing works better than your own saliva. I learned this from my Mother who was quilting until her death at 90. In the quilting circles, when someone pricked their finger and left a blood spot on a quilt, it was extremely important that the same quilter spit on the blood and blotted it clean. Has something to do with individual enzymes of something.....maybe it's the same principle with urine as suggested by steveooo1984! Of course, the quilters were not dealing with great quantities of blood.

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on 9/21/2008 I tried torch6576's suggestion on a blue cotton t-shirt that had fresh blood on it. I put hydrogen peroxide on the stain, put the salt on, waited 15 minutes, came back and the salt was red. I brushed the salt off and washed it. No stain. Thanks!

torch6576 said

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on 9/2/2008 Pour peroxide on the stain and cover the stain with table salt. You will actually see the salt turn blood color as it soaks up the bloodstain. I did this on a pillow case where the stain had over a month to set while waiting to be washed.

Miss-E said

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on 7/3/2008 Honestly nothing works better on a blood stain on clothes than your own saliva. It has to be your blood and your saliva though otherwise for some reason it doesn't work. But trust me. I had a blood stain on my pajamas, so I spat on it, and it literally disolved, put it in the washing machine, and nows theres no trace left :) Dont believe me? Try it :D

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