How to Remove Dried Blood Stains

Anyone who has been faced with trying to clean up a dried blood stain knows that it can be very hard stain to remove.

Your first inclination might be to use hot water to clean it, but hot water “cooks” the blood and binds it to the fabric. In that case you might never be able to remove the blood completely. If that’s the case, skip down to tough blood stain removal section below.

The good news is that Mrs. Clean knows just how to remove all blood stains out fast!

Home Remedies To Remove Dried Blood Stains:

Plain Cold Water:

Rinse out the blood with cold water as soon as you discover it on your clothes or another fabric. The fresher the stain the easier that it is to get out. Remember to always use cold water (the colder the better) when removing blood.

If the stain is fresh and has not been exposed to heat, plain old cold water is guaranteed to remove it. You can add a little bar soap, shampoo or laundry soap to the stain as you rinse it to remove any remaining trace of blood.

Milk:

The enzymes that are found in plain milk have a way with blood. If you have a piece of fabric that has a blood stain in it, soak the stained area in a bowl or glass of milk. Make sure that the whole stained area is completely immersed in the milk. Depending on the stain, the milk should loosen the grip that the blood has on the fibers of the fabric within a couple of hours.

After you are done soaking the fabric, run it through the washer and dryer to get it fully cleaned. If the stain does not come out after going through the wash, soak in the milk again for a longer period of time and then repeat the wash. DO NOT put the fabric through the dryer until the stain is gone.

Saline Solution:

A simple mixture of water and salt will help remove stained blood from fabric. To make your own saline solution, add 1 teaspoon of salt to 2 cups of COLD water. You can always add more salt to increase the salinity of the water, but start with this mixture first.

Place the stained area of the fabric on a towel and soak the stain in the solution. The towel underneath works to pull the saline solution through the stained fabric taking the blood with it.

The saline acts as an agent to reverse the coagulation of the blood cells. In other words, it tells the blood cells that they don’t have to stick together anymore. It doesn’t matter the age of the stain either; this saline treatment has been known to remove stains that are more than 6 months old.

Blood Stain Removers:

A stain stick is usually the first thing that people reach for when they have a stain. With all of these stain removers read the directions carefully. You need to make sure that the remover is designed to remove blood and also the type of fabric it was created to treat. Using the wrong stain remover will be a waste of money if it can’t get your stain out or if it destroys the fabric you are trying to save.

These stain removers are usually found in both spray and powder form. With the spray, you spray the remover on the stain and allow it to soak before washing. The powders are designed to be added to water and for the stained fabric to soak in the mixture before washing.

When using any type of chemical cleaner to remove blood stains, test out on a small hidden area first. This way if the chemical permanently discolors the fabric, it will be hidden and you will know that you need to find a different blood stain removal technique.

Tough Or Set In Blood Stains:

Set in blood that has been exposed to heat, either from hot water or the clothes dryer is the hardest stain to remove. The heat cooks the blood and you likely have a yellowish stain left. Don’t try bleach, it won’t help one bit. You need a rust stain remover to remove the iron that has bound to the fabric.