How to Clean Blood Stains Out of Fabric

Fight a blood stain as soon as it appears, for best results.

Blood stains on your clothes and delicate garments is alarming, since blood contains protein compounds that are hard to break up and remove once they set into a particular fabric. There are a couple of at-home remedies you can use to vanish the blood stain for good. These techniques can work on any type of fabric, including delicate materials like silk, or polyester, or on more durable fabrics like denim, cotton or wool.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 2 quarts of cold water
• Basin
• 1 cup of table salt
• Cotton swab or cotton balls
• Liquid soda crystals
• Nail brush
• Glass cleaner spray
• 3 percent hydrogen peroxide
• Ammonia
• Denture cleanser tablets

Dried Blood Fabric Stains

1. Fill a basin with 2 quarts of cold tap water. Add 1 cup of table salt to the water and swish by hand, making sure the salt dissolves into the water.

2. Pretreat dried blood by dabbing it with mild shampoo dipped on a cotton ball or cotton swab.

3. Soak the garment in the cold water basin for 20 to 60 minutes. Pour a small amount of liquid soda crystals onto the stain and scrub it briskly with a nailbrush to further fade the stain.

4. Wring the garment to remove excess water.

5. Place the garment in a washing machine set on a low load. Wash on a cold setting and with a commercial fabric detergent. Allow the garment to air dry once washing cycle completes.

Fresh Blood Stains

1. Pretreat blood stain before laundering with a commercial liquid glass cleaner; spray a couple of times onto the blood spot and allow the solution to soak into the blood for at least five minutes. If the fabric is heavily stained, dab the stain with a moderate amount of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide.

2. Fill a basin full of cold tap water. Place one denture cleanser tablet into the basin, allowing the tablet to completely dissolve. Soak the garment in the basin for 15 to 45 minutes.

3. Wring the garment to remove excess water and rinse the any blood stain traces from the garment with ammonia and cold water.

4. Place the garment into a washer machine and set the water temperature to cold. Allow the fabric to air dry after washing cycle completes.

References

• Mrs. Clean: Tips On Removing Blood Stains