Cuts, scratches, periods... A bloodstain soon arrived. To remove it, the ideal is to act quickly! Everyone agrees that the sooner you act on the stain, the more likely you are to get rid of it. Indeed, the tissue is impregnated with blood molecules and the red blood cells mix with the fibers instead of remaining on the surface. When the blood dries, it becomes one with the fabric, and it's harder to ask it to leave.
How do I remove a fresh bloodstain?
There are several methods to remove a bloodstain that has just been applied. But before choosing one, it is necessary to determine which one is suitable for the medium in question. If it is a white cotton cloth, pass it under cold water (and especially not hot water: the blood is comfortable at 37°) in order to coagulate the blood so that he comes off. For synthetic or colored clothing, you can put an effervescent tablet of aspirin in a glass of cold water, let it melt, then soak the stain with it.
The effervescent action of aspirin will dislodge the particles attached to the fibers. If your fabric supports it (test on a hidden part), you can soak the stain in hydrogen peroxide (absorb the excess with a paper towel, for example on a sofa that cannot go under water) or of saline. Once the biggest stain is gone, we recommend a first cleaning with Marseille soap before putting your laundry in the machine, in order to avoid the halos that your first attempts could leave. Similarly, if you use commercial stain removers, wash with Marseille soap and then machine wash: the detached areas should be rinsed well, as these products could damage your fabric.
Above all, never rub a bloodstain directly, you will only help the blood to become embedded. Proceed by dabbing lightly, starting from the outside towards the inside of the stain.
On a carpet or mattress that cannot be run under cold water, there are other solutions. The easiest way is to go to the kitchen to get an ice cube to melt on the stain for the same result. You can also use a little ammonia, diluting it in water (50%) on a cloth with which you will dab the stain. Be careful, open the windows wide and, ideally, wear a mask, do not breathe ammonia vapours, they are toxic. In the absence of ammonia, you can put pure tartaric acid on your cloth. If the stain is not very large, you can also put a little liquid black soap on it. Leave to act for a few minutes, rub lightly with a damp cloth (always from the outside to the inside) before absorbing the excess.
For a fragile sofa for which you fear the risk of halos, here is our solution: make a dough with a little water and flour (or talc or cornstarch). Spread this paste on the stain and let it dry (an hour or more). Then remove the formed crust, brush.
How do you clean a blood stain that has dried?
Alas, you were unable to intervene in time and the blood has dried. He and the fibers of the fabric become one and the ice cube will no longer be of any help to you. Don't go throwing away your favorite blouse or ordering a new sofa right away on the internet, there are two or three little things you can try beforehand.
If you can soak your laundry, soak it in cold water before rubbing the stain with a cloth soaked in 70° alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or ammonia. Rinse again before machine washing.
If you cannot move the object to be detached, prepare a paste to let dry on it. It can be water + aspirin, vinegar + starch, water + starch, or water + soda crystals, depending on what you have on hand.
Also read:
⋙ How to clean rust stains?
⋙ How to properly maintain your mattress?
⋙ The ingenious trick to remove a grass stain
