Getting Blood Out Of Fabric

By Matt Oden | Comments | Bodily Fluids Stains → Blood | Fabric Stains

Getting blood out of fabric, especially when it has been allowed to dry, can be a huge challenge for your washing machine. When it comes to these types of organic stains, however, hand treating them is often the best course of action in order to thoroughly remove the stains. Correctly identifying the fabric is also important to avoid potentially damaging the fabric while removing the stains.

Getting Blood Out Of Fabric

Whether your cat has shared his prey with you on your pillowcase, or an item of clothing has been party to helping stem the bleeding on a scraped knee, getting blood out of fabric doesn’t need to drive you to start seeing red. With a few basic stain removal ingredients, and a bit of patience, you can soon have your fabric looking a lot less like the scene of a crime and more like your favorite pillowcase, tablecloth, or best blouse.

Getting Blood Out Of Silk Fabric

What You Will Need Before You Start

  • Clean absorbent towels
  • Clean sponge
  • Table salt
  • Meat tenderizer

Whether your silk sheets have fallen victim to your winter nosebleed, or your silk shirt bore the brunt of your paper cut in the office, silk requires a bit of finesse when cleaning. If the wrong cleaning methods are used on the silk fabric, it can actually destroy the fibers of the fabric and lead to fraying and even holes in your favorite silk scarf.

Be sure to always follow the cleaning directions on the attached tags so that your silk items are kept in excellent shape. When getting blood out of fabrics like silk, there are a few simple steps to carefully follow.

  1. In a small bowl, mix one cup of very cold water and one tablespoon of ordinary table salt.
  2. Lay a clean absorbent towel on a flat surface, like your kitchen counter.
  3. Place the silk garment or sheet on top of the towel, with the stain facing up.
  4. Dip the clean sponge into the salt solution and squeeze to remove excess liquid.
  5. Starting at the outer edges of the stain, carefully dab the sponge onto the stain. If the stain is somewhat fresh then this will more than likely completely remove the blood stain.

If the stain has set into the silk, then you will need to try meat tenderizer. While this may seem like a bizarre thing, the naturally occurring enzymes in the meat tenderizer will actually serve to loosen the blood that is clinging to the fibers of the silk item.

  1. Make a paste using one part meat tenderizer and two parts water.
  2. Dab the paste onto the stain with a clean sponge. Be sure not to rub, as this can damage the silk fibers.
  3. Completely rinse the silk item with cold water and allow it to air dry.

You may need to repeat the steps if the stain is particularly stubborn, but it is worth the extra effort in order to salvage your silk items.

Getting Blood Out Of Cotton Fabric

What You Will Need Before You Start

  • Clean sponge
  • Dishwashing detergent
  • Ammonia

Getting blood out of fabrics like cotton is a lot easier than more delicate fabrics like silk. If the stain is fairly fresh then you should be able to use a laundry pretreating solution and wash it on a normal cycle. Be sure to only wash it on a cold cycle as heat could cause the stain to set into the fibers of the fabric.

Any linger stains, or other stains that have set into the fabric can be treated using the following steps.

  1. Fill a basin or your sink up with a quart of cold water.
  2. Add a half teaspoon of dishwashing detergent.
  3. Add a tablespoon of ammonia.
  4. Soak the stained fabric in the solution for up to fifteen minutes.
  5. Using the clean sponge, blot at the stain in order to remove it.
  6. Thoroughly rinse the fabric with cold water in order to make sure all of the ammonia has been rinsed clean.

The blood stain should be gone, and the item can be laundered as per your usual methods. Just remember that heat is not your friend when it comes to getting blood out of fabric.

Getting Blood Off Of Leather

What You Will Need Before You Start

  • Paper towels
  • Hydrogen peroxide

With blood being one of the trickier stains to remove, and leather requiring a bit of specialized care, the combination of the two can sometimes be very frustrating. Before you give up on your leather coat and opt to toss it out, lest you look like an extra from one of the Blade movies, there are a few things that you can do in order to restore your leather to pristine condition.

On a hidden part of the leather, test a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide by dabbing it onto the leather with a paper towel. Wipe it off almost immediately and wait for up to fifteen minutes. If the leather doesn’t start to fade or crack, then you can proceed with removing the blood stain.

  1. Dab a bit of hydrogen peroxide onto the corner of a paper towel.
  2. Lightly pat the paper towel on the blood stain.
  3. Using another clean paper towel, be sure to quickly wipe off any excess liquid so that you can minimize the time the leather is exposed to the hydrogen peroxide.
  4. Depending on the size of the stain, you may need to repeat the steps several times.
  5. Once the blood stain has been removed, you can rinse the leather clean with cold water.

Getting Blood Out Of Denim

What You Will Need Before You Start

  • Clean absorbent towels
  • Clean sponge
  • Hydrogen peroxide

If your favorite denim jeans or 80s flashback denim jacket have become the latest victims in your paper cut or kitchen knife misadventures, then there are a few things that you need to do in order to restore your denim.

Remember, when getting blood out of fabric, it is always best to get to work on removing the stain as soon as you can. A dried and set stain is always more challenging to remove.

  1. Lay the clean towel on a flat surface and place the denim garment on top of it.
  2. In a hidden spot, perhaps on an inside seam, test the denim for colorfastness with a small dab of the hydrogen peroxide. If no fading on the denim appears then you can proceed with the rest of the stain removal process.
  3. Using the clean sponge, apply a generous amount of hydrogen peroxide to the blood stain; it should bubble and fizz.
  4. Once the bubbling and fizzing have ceased, you should wash the denim in cold water to thoroughly remove the hydrogen peroxide.
  5. If the stain is still visible then you may need to repeat the process. If the stain has been removed then you can launder the denim as per your typical washing methods.

The majority of stain pretreating products on the market will do a great job at getting blood out of fabric, so pick one that has worked well for you on other types of stains and be sure to keep it around. Of course, if you don’t have any on hand, your kitchen pantry offers a veritable treasure trove of stain removing agents that you can rely on.

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