How to Remove Blood Stains from Sheets Step-By-Step (6 Methods)

How to Remove Blood Stains from Sheets

You likely already realize that out of all the stubborn stains out there, blood can be one of the most difficult ones to get out of fabrics. It can be especially frustrating after you invest in purchasing your new favorite bed sheet set. So how do you remove blood from your sheets without ruining them?

General Tips for Removing Blood Stains

1st Step: Act Quickly!

The best method for tackling blood stains is to act fast.  The quicker you are able to remedy this, the easier it will be and the less pervasive the staining will ultimately be. 

You’ll first want to treat them right away, as it is a lot easier to clean up if you do not let it set in for several hours or even longer. Blood will dissolve easing in cold or cool water. Do not ever use hot water since it will literally cook the blood and you might not ever be able to get it out after that.

With the cool water you can use a dab of dish soap and gently rub it in with your fingers to break the blood up. Never use the dryer either, because the heat from it will set in any of the stain that might remain. Instead, air dry the sheet or lay it flat to dry.

Cleaning Fresh Blood Stains

If possible, fill a sink with cold water and put the stained sheet in it. While it is wet, scrub the stain with your knuckles or fingers to loosen as much of it as possible. If the stain is now gone, you can launder it right away and skip pre-treating it.

Pre-Treating

If there is still some blood after rinsing or soaking the stain, put one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid on the stain. Allow the detergent to work on the stain for fifteen to thirty minutes. The stain should now be gone or almost gone.

Cold Wash

Now put the sheet in your washing machine with cold water and your detergent and launder as usual. This should eliminate the stain completely.

Never use hot or even warm water.  This is a huge, huge no-no because blood locks itself in and settles when you use warm water.

Stains that are Heavy Duty

If the stain still remains after this step, don’t fear. As long as heat has not been applied to it, you can still get it out, as is ammonia.

Hydrogen peroxide is usually recommended for getting out blood stains. It can be used full strength and put directly onto the stain. Ammonia however should be diluted with water first, using one tablespoon of ammonia to a cup of water, putting it on the stain and then washing it as soon as you can.

Allow the solution to work on the stain for thirty to sixty minutes then you can wash it in cold water. If necessary, you can repeat this process.

Getting Rid of Old or Dried Blood Stains

You won’t always be to treat blood stains right away. This is true especially with bedding.

If this is your situation, you can soak the sheets in cold water for many hours to dissolve and loosen all the stain that you possibly can. You could even run it through a cold water wash along with a mild detergent.

Then see how much stain is remaining and mix a tablespoon of meat tenderizer and to teaspoons of cold water to form a paste. Spread this past on the stain and work it in with your fingers. Let it sit for thirty to sixty minutes and then shake off the excess before washing It in cold water.

6 Different Solutions to Cleaning Blood Stained Sheets

Method #1- Hydrogen Peroxide

One potential weapon for helping ward off blood stains is going to be hydrogen peroxide.  This choice, though, do come with its own caveats that you must be aware.  It is best served for use in conjunction with light colors only.  Sheets that are darker in color are going to be at risk of being bleached. 

  1. Begin by rinsing the sheet with cold water.  You can do this in a ‘vat,’ which is essentially going to be either a tub or a sink.
  2. Next, take the hydrogen peroxide and pour it onto a small towel.  Take the towel and blot the stain.
  3. This is going to cause a chemical reaction, which will be that of fizzing.  Wait until that subsides and then take the sheet together to work the blood out of the threads.  It will try and attach itself, so this helps to break those bonds ever so slightly.
  4. Once you have done this, take cold water and rinse the sheets once more.  If you still see the stain, then you will want to repeat this until it’s to the level that you require it to be at. 

Method #2- Salt Water

Believe it or not, one of the most common ‘ingredients,’ if you will in the world can also tackle this problem, too.  Salt water, which is found in the bountiful and beautiful oceans we have can also ward off blood stains.  This is the best choice for you to go with in the case that you are working with a delicate set of sheets, such as silk. 

  1. Take and gather one cup or cold water, remember always cold, and also set aside one teaspoon of salt. It doesn’t sound like much, but that will be just plenty.
  2. Take the solution and gently rub it in to the sheets where the blood is located.  Be patient with this one, as it is not a race.
  3. Allow the solution to sit on the sheets for ten minutes and then rinse the sheets off again with cold water.  If it persists, then go ahead and try this method again, as you need to be gentle with the more delicate sheets.

Method #3- Baking Soda

Baking soda is another one of those things that feel like you can fix anything in the world with it.  Duct tape, WD-40, and baking soda sure can cure a whole lot of ills.  Nonetheless, you can take baking soda, or cornstarch if you have that instead, to take on blood stains. 

  1. First, take the baking soda (or cornstarch) and add cold water directly to it.
  2. Apply this new ‘paste’ like substance to the blood stain and then gently rub it with your fingers or a fresh, clean cloth.  It’s important that it is not dirty, since it can make the blood even harder to get out by rooting it in further.
  3. After you have done this, allow the paste to sit on the sheets for 30 minutes.  After that has happened, wipe the paste off and then rinse the sheet in, you guessed it, cold water.  If it’s still there, then you will need to try it again or go to another method, potentially.

Method #4- Stain Treatment

In 2020, you can just about find a solution to any old woe by buying a product on the shelf.  These products don’t have all natural ingredients, usually, and they aren’t lying around, but they sure can be effective and devastating to stains.  Stain treatment products can be just the answer for you if the question is annoying blood stains. 

With this method, we can’t go into great detail because they each are going to be a little bit different from the next.  The things they do share, though, are that you should begin by using cold water.  Take it and wet the stain with it. 

Then, simply follow the instructions on the bottle or whatever information they have sent along with it.  Then, as you’d guess, wash in cold water.  This is the best way for most people when they are dealing with blood that just won’t come out, so don’t be shy to try it out if that’s what has been plaguing you. 

Method #5- Soda

You probably weren’t exactly shocked to see baking soda on here, but regular old soda?  Come on, you must be saying.  Well, you can use it, and to aplomb if you do it correctly.  Despite its inherent stickiness, you can overcome that and get rid of blood stains through this procedure.  This is a great choice if you are on the move traveling and just don’t have another way to do it since you don’t have a limitless amount of supplies handy. 

  1. Take the stain and apply some soda to it.  Make sure to cover it all and let it sit for a while.
  2. The best thing to do is to let it sit for a few hours, but you do need to at least give it a couple if you go in this route.
  3. When you come back, you should see that the soda ‘raised’ the stain out, allowing you to put it in the washer now.
  4. This is a totally, well basically natural way of doing it, but it can work depending on the level that the blood has sunk into the sheets. 

Method # 6- Wash as Usual

One thing that should be common sense is that you can always wash your sheets as you would regularly do, although you do need to do it on cold rather than warm or hot.  This might sound crazy, but it’s a great idea if you don’t think the blood is that pervasive or if you feel that it’s fresh enough that it will simply ‘slide’ right off the sheets. 

This may just do the trick and require no extra time or materials, so it’s well worth the shot.  It will not penalize you, contrary to what you might think, to try it and then go back and do another method.  This is risk-free attempt, so don’t be scared to do this if you want to try and save a little bit of time for whatever reason. 

Conclusion

We have all had accidents that have happened to us.  Big or small, we’re only human, as the song says, and part of that condition is that blood does come out of us.  It can be a big cut, or a small cut, but they happen.  And they can happen in bed or before bed, sometimes without us even knowing, leading to stains forming in our bed sheets

No one wants to lay on those, especially if that blood is not coming from ourselves.  Even if it is from our own bodies, we still don’t want any part of it.  That’s why you can take solace in the fact that there is a way, multiple ways, in fact, to get rid of them.  So, get to trying one and ridding your sheets of blood! 

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