How to remove blood from a mattress

How to remove blood from a mattress

1. 1

   Strip the bed and blot

   Take off the sheets and any mattress pad. Press a dry white towel firmly onto fresh blood to pull it up, moving to a clean part of the towel each time. Gently scrape off any dried crust with a dull knife.

   Why: Pressing lifts blood out of the ticking before it spreads into the padding. Rubbing would push it in and widen the stain.

2. 2

   Dab with cold water, then blot

   Dampen a white cloth in cold water, wring it out, and dab the stain from the outside edge toward the center. Blot with a dry towel. Repeat, switching to clean parts of both cloths, until no more red transfers.

   Why: Cold water dissolves blood proteins that haven't set. Working from the edge in keeps the stain from growing into a bigger ring.

3. 3

   Add a little dish soap

   Mix ¼ teaspoon of liquid dish soap into a cup of cool water. Dab it onto the stain with a cloth, let it sit a few minutes, and blot. Don't pour or spray it on heavily.

   Why: Mild detergent loosens blood that water alone leaves behind. This is the Carpet and Rug Institute's strength for blood on carpet; its recipe uses lukewarm water, but cool is the safer choice on a protein stain. Stronger mixes leave sticky residue.

4. 4

   Use enzyme cleaner on dried blood

   If a stain remains, lightly mist or dab an enzyme cleaner onto it, following the label's dwell time. Test it on a hidden part of the cover first, and use just enough to dampen the surface.

   Why: Dried blood has clotted, and protease enzymes cut the clotted protein into pieces that can be blotted away.

5. 5

   Treat the brown shadow on a white cover

   On white ticking only, dab a small amount of 3% hydrogen peroxide on the remaining mark after a spot test. Let it fizz, then blot. Skip this on colored or patterned covers.

   Why: The leftover brown is heme pigment. Peroxide oxidizes it, and the fizzing comes from catalase, an enzyme in blood that splits peroxide into water and oxygen.

6. 6

   Rinse with a damp cloth and blot

   Dab the area with a cloth dampened in plain cold water to lift soap and cleaner residue, then press dry towels on it until they come away nearly dry.

   Why: Soap left in the fabric attracts dirt and can leave a ring once it dries.

7. 7

   Dry completely before making the bed

   Point a fan across the spot, open a window or run a dehumidifier, and keep the sheets off until the surface and the layers underneath feel fully dry. Don't use a hair dryer, iron or steam.

   Why: Heat sets blood protein. Moisture trapped inside foam for more than a day or two can lead to odor and mildew.

Why a mattress needs a different method

On clothes, you'd flush blood out from the back and soak it. A mattress has no back you can reach. Liquid passes through the thin cover into foam or fiber batting, spreads sideways and downward, and stays there. Mattress makers say foam comfort layers should never be soaked or washed, because foam holds moisture and dries slowly.

So the method changes from rinsing to dabbing and lifting. Every cloth should be damp, not wet, and every application is followed by blotting. It takes more passes, but each one pulls blood up and out instead of driving it deeper.

Why cold water and enzymes

Blood is a protein stain. As it dries, its proteins clot and grip the fibers, and heat denatures them so they set hard, like a cooked egg white. That's why the blood stain guide keeps everything cold until the protein is broken down. On a mattress, that rules out steam cleaners and hair dryers too.

An enzyme cleaner uses protease enzymes to cut clotted protein into pieces small enough to blot away. It needs time on the stain, which is why you follow the label's dwell time rather than wiping it straight off.

By situation

Period blood on a mattress

It's the same chemistry as any blood, so use the same steps. Act as soon as you notice it, and wash the sheets separately with a cold rinse and an enzyme soak. A liquid-resistant mattress protector is the simplest way to prevent the next one, since cleaning can't reach blood that soaks deep.

Dried or old blood stains

Scrape off any crust, then alternate enzyme cleaner and blotting over a few sessions, letting the spot dry in between. Old stains often fade to a light brown mark rather than disappearing. On a white cover, hydrogen peroxide can lighten that mark further.

A lot of blood that soaked deep

Blot out as much as you can and dry it well, but expect the surface to be the only part you can clean. If it still smells or keeps reappearing after drying, a professional upholstery cleaner can advise, and a mattress protector will at least seal it off from the bed.

Removable or zip-off covers

Some foam mattresses have a zip-off cover. Check its tag: some are washable and some aren't, and the makers' care directions exclude dry cleaning, ironing and bleach. If it's washable, treat it like clothing with a cold rinse and an enzyme soak.

Someone else's blood

Wear disposable gloves while you clean, and wash your hands afterward.

What not to do

• Don't pour water or cleaner onto the mattress. Liquid wicks into the foam or padding, spreads the stain and can lead to mildew before it dries.
• Don't use hot water, steam, a hair dryer or an iron. Heat denatures blood protein and sets the stain.
• Don't use chlorine bleach. It damages polyurethane foam and many cover fabrics.
• Don't scrub. Scrubbing spreads blood outward, pushes it deeper and can fuzz the quilted cover.
• Don't mix ammonia and bleach. Both get suggested for blood, but together they release toxic chloramine gas.

Other methods that work

Ammonia solution

The Carpet and Rug Institute lists 1 tablespoon of household ammonia in a cup of water as a later step for blood on carpet. Dabbed on sparingly and blotted, it can help loosen dried blood on a mattress cover.

Caution: Test first, as it can shift dye colors. Ventilate, and never use it with or after chlorine bleach.

Salt water

A strong salt-water solution is an old method for loosening dried blood. It's traditional, with weak evidence, and enzyme cleaner works better.

Caution: Blot out the salt with a damp cloth afterward so it doesn't leave a ring.

Stain still there?

A water ring formed around the stain

Too much liquid spread outward and left a tide line as it dried. Dab the whole ring lightly with a damp cloth, blending outward, and blot and dry it with a fan.

The stain came back as it dried

Blood deeper in the padding wicked up. Repeat the cold water and enzyme steps, then lay a thick pad of dry towels on the spot with a weight on top so it draws moisture up into the towels.

A faint brown mark won't budge

That's heme pigment. On a white cover, try 3% hydrogen peroxide after a spot test. On a colored cover, a mattress protector may be the practical answer.

Safety

• Wear disposable gloves when cleaning someone else's blood.
• Use only 3% hydrogen peroxide, and test it on a hidden spot first.
• Never mix chlorine bleach with ammonia.

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

Questions

Blood on other surfaces

• Blood stains: the complete guide
• Blood on carpet
• Blood on clothes
• Blood on a couch
• Blood on sheets
• Blood on shoes
• Blood on white clothes

Other stains on a mattress

• How to clean a mattress
• Cat urine on a mattress
• Dog urine on a mattress
• Sweat on a mattress
• Urine on a mattress