How to Remove Blood & Pet Stains

Puppies are often as messy as they are cute.

Life is messy. No matter how careful we are, pets, accidents---and pet accidents---can cause nasty stains on furniture, carpets and clothing. Not to worry. It's not that hard to remove pet stains, especially if you catch them right away. It's a little more difficult to remove blood stains, but with a little patience, even dried blood can be cleaned up enough to fool the naked eye. Removing nasty stains is best done with natural ingredients to avoid making the problem even worse.

Things You'll Need

• Disposable shop cloths
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Water
• Ammonia
• White vinegar
• Baking soda
• Vacuum cleaner

Instructions

1. Blot fresh stains with a clean, dry shop cloth. Shop cloths are a lot thicker and more durable than regular kitchen paper towels. Get up as much of the stain as you can just by blotting.

2. Rinse a freshly-dried stain with clear water. Sometimes this is enough to remove the stain if you have caught it just after it has dried. If the stain is on a washable fabric, pre-treat with a little detergent and then wash as usual. Use only cold water for blood stains, and the warmest water your fabric can handle for pet stains.

3. Apply hydrogen peroxide to blood stains on furniture and carpet, using a clean shop cloth. Let the hydrogen peroxide bubble up for a few seconds and then blot it up. Rinse with clear water.

4. Mix 2 tbsp. of ammonia with 1 cup of warm water, pour it onto a shop cloth and blot pet urine stains on carpet or furniture. Keep replacing the shop cloths and using fresh ammonia, until the stain comes up. Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of warm water. Blot again, until all traces of the stain are gone.

5. Mix 1 cup of ammonia with 2 cups of warm water to use on pet feces stains. Soak the stain thoroughly and let the solution sit for at least five minutes. Blot up all of the liquid with clean shop cloths. When you have blotted up as much liquid as possible, sprinkle baking soda on the spot. Let it dry overnight and then vacuum it up.

Tips & Warnings

• Use denture cleaner to spot treat stained clothing---it is made to remove biological stains.

• Always wear latex gloves when dealing with biological stains.

• Never mix any household chemicals with any other, including white vinegar.

References

• Mrs. Clean USA: Tips on Removing Blood Stains
• Cozy Cat Furniture: How to Remove Cat Urine
• Paw Rescue: Cleaning Tips

Resources

• Good Housekeeping: Stain Buster