When it comes to stains, there are a few things that can be a bit of a pain to remove – red wine on a carpet, chocolate on a sofa and blood on bedsheets.
In this post, we’re going to be covering the latter.
Those of you who have a monthly visitor will know it can sometimes catch you off guard and leave you with marked bedsheets. This is pretty annoying, especially if you have just bought new crisp white bedding!
But there are ways of getting blood out of fabric that doesn’t involve bleach, which can sometimes ruin colourful or patterned sheets.
Wash Out Blood with Cold Water
Like with most spillages, the earlier you catch it, the better! With blood, if you catch it early enough, you can rinse the stained area with cold water to remove as much of the blood as possible. You may find that using a bit of hand soap on the bloodstain will help to get rid of it further.
Always use cold water – warm or hot water will set the stain and make it extremely hard to remove later down the line.
Remove Dried Blood from Bedsheets
Dried in bloodstains can be a little more tricky and require a bit more effort to remove, however, it is still possible to get rid of the stains altogether. This method will require your sheets to be completely soaked as dried blood can’t be spot treated as easily as fresher.
Firstly, soak your sheets in cold water mixed with your usual laundry detergent or stain remover of choice.
Secondly, if your bedding’s care label allows, pre-treat the stained area with fabric-safe bleach – this Clorox Bleach Pen is ideal when treating specific areas of your sheets.
If bleach does not completely remove the stain, you may need to opt for something a little stronger, but only use the following method as a last resort. Mix 950 ml with 1 teaspoon of laundry detergent and 1 tablespoon of household ammonia and use this to spot treat the stained area.
One the area has been pre-treated and rinsed thoroughly, then it can be placed into the washing machine as normal.
How to Clean Blood From a Mattress
If you don’t have a mattress protector underneath your sheets, then you may find that you will need to clean the mattress as well. For this, spot-cleaning it your only option.
You could try using cold water and hand soap to remove the blood from your mattress – go easy on the soap as you can’t just run your mattress under the cold tap. If the blood has dried in, you may want to opt for something with stronger stain-removal power.
Laundry stain remover allows you to spot treat stained areas – perfect for a heavy, unwashable mattress. Here are a couple of stain removers which would be ideal for removing blood stains from a mattress:
Mix your chosen stain remover with cold water (as directed on the packaging) and dab and blot the stain until it is completely lifted. Once you’re happy that the stain has gone, rinse the area gently using a cloth with clean cold water and leave to air dry.
Thirty-something lady with a penchant for flowers and anything involving crafts. I like to clean using environmentally-friendly methods where possible and love sharing my findings, tips and tricks here on In The Wash!
