How to get blood out of clothes

How to remove blood from clothes

1. 1

   Blot or scrape off what you can

   Blot fresh blood with a white cloth or paper towel. On dried blood, gently scrape off any crust with a dull knife or spoon. Don't rub: rubbing spreads the blood and pushes it deeper into the weave.

   Why: This removes blood that hasn't bonded to the fibers yet, so there's less to dissolve.

2. 2

   Flush from the back with cold water

   Turn the garment inside out and hold the stain under a cold tap, so the water pushes the blood back out the way it came in. Keep going until the water runs clear or the stain stops fading.

   Why: Cold water dissolves blood proteins that are still soluble. Warm or hot water starts to cook them in place.

3. 3

   Soak with an enzyme detergent

   Fill a basin with cold water, stir in an enzyme laundry detergent or enzyme presoak, and submerge the stain. Soak fresh stains for at least 30 minutes and dried ones for several hours, or overnight.

   Why: Protease enzymes cut clotted blood proteins into small pieces that rinse away. Water alone can't do this once blood has dried.

4. 4

   Work in a little detergent and wash warm

   Rub a few drops of enzyme detergent into the spot, then wash as usual in warm water, or cold for fabrics that require it. Avoid hot cycles.

   Why: Once the enzymes have broken the protein down, warm water is enough to wash it out.

5. 5

   Bleach any brown shadow left behind

   If a rusty or brownish mark remains, soak or rewash with oxygen bleach (safe for most colors) or, on white cotton whose label allows it, chlorine bleach. On a white shirt, dabbing 3% hydrogen peroxide also works.

   Why: That shadow is heme, the iron-containing pigment in blood. It can stay after the protein is gone, and an oxidizing bleach breaks it down.

6. 6

   Air-dry and check before the dryer

   Let the garment air-dry and look at it in daylight. If any trace remains, repeat the enzyme soak. Only use the dryer once the stain is completely gone.

   Why: Dryer heat can set leftover protein so firmly that it can't be removed later.

Why cold water, and never hot

Blood is mostly water carrying proteins: hemoglobin in the red cells, plus albumin and fibrinogen. As it dries, those proteins clot and cling to fibers. Heat makes it worse. It denatures the proteins, which is the same thing that happens when an egg white turns solid in a pan, and they harden between the yarns.

That's why every reliable guide starts with cold water and saves warmth for the wash, after enzymes have broken the protein down. Other protein stains, like sweat, urine, vomit and milk, follow the same rule.

By situation

Dried or old blood

Scrape off the crust, then give it a long enzyme soak. Several hours is normal, and you can repeat it with fresh solution if the water turns pink. Sources differ on the soak temperature for dried stains: the American Cleaning Institute allows warm water at this stage, while the Kentucky and Iowa State extension guides keep it cold. Starting cold is the safe choice, because nothing gets set while you check progress.

It already went through the wash or the dryer

A hot wash may have partly set the protein. Soak again in cool water with an enzyme presoak, rewash, and follow with oxygen bleach (or chlorine bleach on colorfast white cotton) for the color. If it has been through the dryer, the stain is much harder to shift. Repeat the enzyme soak a few times before bleaching, and expect that some heat-set marks won't come out completely.

Period blood on underwear

It's the same chemistry, so use the same method: rinse from the back with cold water as soon as you can, soak with an enzyme detergent, and wash warm. For underwear with stretch, avoid chlorine bleach, which damages spandex.

White clothes

After the enzyme soak, 3% hydrogen peroxide or a chlorine bleach soak (if the care label shows an empty triangle) removes the last color. Peroxide fizzes on blood because an enzyme in blood called catalase breaks it into water and oxygen. The fizzing is normal.

Colored clothes

Use oxygen bleach rather than chlorine, and test hydrogen peroxide on an inside seam first: it can lighten some dyes.

Silk, wool and dry-clean-only items

Silk and wool are protein fibers themselves, so enzyme presoaks can damage them, and chlorine bleach ruins them. Sponge the spot gently with cold water only. For anything labeled dry clean only, blot with cold water at most and take it to a cleaner within a day or two, telling them it's blood.

What not to do

• Don't start with hot water. Heat coagulates blood proteins between the fibers and can make the stain permanent.
• Don't use the dryer or an iron while any stain is visible. Both apply heat, which sets whatever protein is left.
• Don't scrub hard. Rubbing spreads the stain and pushes it deeper, and it can fuzz the fabric surface.
• Don't combine bleach with ammonia. Ammonia is sometimes suggested for old blood. Chlorine bleach plus ammonia releases toxic chloramine gas, so use one or the other, never both.

Other methods that work

Hydrogen peroxide (3%)

Dab the drugstore 3% solution onto the stain after a cold rinse, let it bubble, blot, and rinse well. It's especially useful on white clothes and dried spots.

Caution: It can lighten dyes, so test on a hidden seam first. Use only the 3% strength, not hair-bleaching products.

Salt water soak

Older government guidance suggested soaking dried blood in strong salt water before washing. It's a traditional method with weak evidence, and current extension guides recommend an enzyme presoak instead. Use it only if you have nothing else, and rinse well afterward.

Diluted ammonia

A mild ammonia solution can help loosen old protein stains on sturdy, colorfast fabrics. Test first, because it can shift some dye colors.

Caution: Never use it with chlorine bleach or after a bleach treatment without rinsing thoroughly in between.

Stain still there?

A faint brown or yellow ring is left

That's usually the heme pigment, not protein. A soak with oxygen bleach, or hydrogen peroxide on whites, usually clears it.

The stain looked gone but came back after drying

Wet fabric hides stains. Rewet the area, repeat the enzyme soak, and always check the garment dry, in good light, before it goes in the dryer.

The stain was ironed or dried hot weeks ago

Try two or three long enzyme soaks followed by oxygen bleach. If nothing changes after that, the stain is probably permanent. A professional cleaner can still try, but tell them what it is.

Safety

• Wear disposable gloves when handling someone else's blood.
• Test hydrogen peroxide, ammonia or bleach on a hidden area first.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

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