Blood Stain Removal

Shampoo is the secret. That's right, plain old shampoo. Blood can easily be removed from most washable fabrics by using shampoo and COLD water. Shampoo works really well to eliminate unsightly blood stains. Any type of shampoo will work. FMM: I have always used bar soap with cold water, which works well.

For optimal stain removal, it's best to attempt to remove the stain as soon as possible. Always use COLD water when working on the stain, as heat may set the stain. In any case, using shampoo will usually eliminate hours-old stains in minutes. For stains more than 24 hours old, you may have to first soak the fabric in cold water first. Then, you can get to the task of fighting that stain.

Removing Blood Stains

1. Pour a capful of shampoo on the stain, making sure that shampoo touches every part of the stain
2. Rub the stained area until the shampoo is completely absorbed
3. Rinse out with cold water. Continue scrubbing the fabric
4. Repeat if needed
5. When the blood stain is gone, launder as usual in cold water

Removing OLD Blood Stains

If the stain is older than 48 hours you will probably need to soak the fabric first in cold water and/or with an enzyme presoak, then launder in cold water.

If the blood stain still remains, try using a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide from the medicine cabinet.

Shampoo works really well to eliminate blood stains from cotton fabrics. Fresh blood stains can be removed in seconds, and the older stains might need some pre-soaking and repeating the process until stain has faded.