How to Get Blood Out of Clothes
It’s happened to everyone. You get a small cut and before you notice it, you get some blood on your favorite white clothes. When that happens, you don’t have to resort to throwing the item away. Getting blood out of clothes is entirely possible, regardless of the material and how old the stain is. You just have to use the right technique. Here’s how to get blood out of clothes.
How to Get Fresh Blood Stains Out of Clothes
The first thing you need to know is that the sooner you deal with the stain, the easier removing it will be. Ideally, you’ll be able to find and address the bloodstain before it dries.
Step 1: If the blood stain is still wet, start by soaking the stain in cold water. Even just running it under the tap can push some of the blood out of the fabric. Avoid hot or warm water since the heat can set in the stain and make it more difficult to get rid of.
Step 2: Soaking the stain likely won’t remove all of the blood so the next step is to apply a stain removing agent with a sponge. This can often be done with household products you already have in your home. Hydrogen peroxide is a great option. Just sponge the hydrogen peroxide into the stain and manually scrub at it.
Step 3: By now, hopefully, the stain has faded significantly. You should wash the garment according to the care label instructions after applying some additional laundry detergent to the stain. Just a note, the care label is essential reading whenever you are trying to remove a stain from a garment. It has all the information you need to avoid damaging the gar
ment during your stain removal. You can repeat this step until the stain is gone but make sure not to put the item of clothing in the dryer before it is fully removed. The dryer will set in any remaining stains.
How to Get Dried Blood Stains Out of Clothes
The process of getting dried blood stains out of clothes is a little more complicated but it is still doable. You just need to have patience and the stain will come out eventually.
Step 1: If necessary, use a butter knife to gently scrape off excess dried material that’s crusted onto the clothing.
Step 2: Soak the clothes in cold water mixed with either detergent or stain remover for up to one week. It may sound like a long time but the longer you allow the garment to soak, the more time the stain remover has to work and the better chance the stain will come out in the end.
Step 3: Wash the garment as usual according to the instructions listed on the care label.
If the stain is particularly persistent, you may want to try an enzyme laundry detergent. These detergents break down the proteins that are holding the stain onto the fabric. Just follow the instructions on the bottle and make sure not to use enzyme detergents on delicate fabrics.
Can Vinegar Remove Blood Stains?
If you don’t have a full arsenal of stain-removing tools at your disposal, you don’t need to despair. Natural products like vinegar can actually help get out blood stains from clothing.
To use vinegar to remove blood stains, all you need to do is pour the vinegar over the stain until it is completely covered and start gently blotting at it with a clean cloth or sponge. Though vinegar alone may not eliminate the stain entirely, it can help in the stain removing process. Acids in white vinegar and other natural products can break down the stains and make it easier for them to come out in the laundry.
How to Get Blood Out of Silk
The steps outlined above cover how to get fresh or dry blood stains out of most garments, but some types of fabrics require additional care. Silk is one of those fabrics. It’s particularly delicate which means you can’t attack blood stains on silk as aggressively as you would with a sturdier fabric like cotton.
So, how do you get blood stains out of silk?
Cold water is still your friend even when dealing with silk. Mix about 1 cup of water with a teaspoon of table salt and put the mixture into a spray bottle. Then, carefully mist the solution onto the stain until the stain is fully wet. Scrub gently at the stain with a clean cloth to work in the mixture then leave it to set in for 10 minutes. After those 10 minutes pass, you can rinse the silk garment with cold water and wash as instructed by the care label.
One thing to always avoid when treating stains on silk is using an enzymatic cleaner. These cleaners remove stains very effectively but are too harsh for delicate fabrics like silk. Choose a gentle cleanser instead.
How to Get Blood Out of Wool
Wool is another fabric that you must handle carefully when trying to remove a bloodstain. One safe method to try is using hydrogen peroxide.
Pour some 3 percent hydrogen peroxide on the stain and work it into the fabric by gently rubbing it with a clean sponge or cloth. Let it sit for five to ten minutes and then rinse out the hydrogen peroxide, like with silk.
You can repeat this process until the stain is completely or mostly gone and then wash the garment according to the care label instructions. And if you’re wondering, “will peroxide bleach clothes?” the answer is no. As long as you only use 3 percent or lower hydrogen peroxide, it will not bleach your clothes.
Conclusion
Some of the key takeaways about how to get blood out of clothes are to use cold water, treat delicate fabrics gently, and have patience. It can be frustrating and even time-consuming to get blood stains out of clothing, depending on the fabric and the age of the stain, but you can do it. Go through the steps outlined above and repeat steps as necessary.
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