How to Remove Dried Blood Stains From Clothing

Blood stain on shirt

Stain removal on clothes can be an easy or difficult task to do, depending on the substance that stained the fabric. A blood stain can be washed off quickly when it's fresh, but can be hard to remove when the blood has dried up. There is an effective way to remove dried blood stains from clothes, based on my personal experience. I used this technique especially to wash off dried blood stains from underwear during my monthly period, but it is as good on any article of clothing as well.

Things You'll Need

• Body soap bar
• Detergent soap
• Bleach
• Cold water
• Lemon juice

Instructions

1. 

   Run cold water over the blood stain for few minutes to soften the fabric. You can also soak the clothing in a basin of cold water. It is important to use cold versus hot water in washing blood soaked fabric because blood is a protein stain. Hot water cooks the protein in the blood, causing coagulation between the fibers, making the stains more difficult to remove.

2. 

   Rub an ordinary bar of bath soap directly onto the stain. Leftover soaps are excellent to use for this purpose, instead of throwing them out. After soaping the stain good, rub the cloth together in places where the blood spots are found. Rinse with cold water. Repeat until all the stains are gone, then wash with detergent soap. Rinse thoroughly before drying the clothes.

3. 

   If there are still slight traces of blood on the cloth, mix one cup of bleach for every gallon of cold water. Soak white fabric in the solution for at least an hour. For colored ones, apply lemon juice directly onto the stain. Wash with detergent soap, rinse thoroughly, and allow to dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Fresh blood stains are easier to remove than dried blood. Wash off blood stain right away as soon as possible.

Resources

• http://ohioline.osu.edu/outside/stainrem.html#cos