Of all the stains in the all the world this is one you really don’t want! Blood is one of the worst stains that we encounter and there’s a very good reason why blood is a tough stain to remove.
Blood is a very important part of your body as we’re sure you know. It has a few rather important roles including carrying oxygen and nutrients to all areas of your body. One of the other jobs blood has and does very well is clotting. Blood clots at varying rates for us all but this becomes very important if you ever cut yourself.
A cut is often best left open to the air to allow your blood to react to the oxygen and then ‘clot’ (go hard) and therefore create a barrier to your body while the skin repairs underneath.
It’s a big like boarding up a shop window when it gets broken or putting a temporary door in place until a new one arrives.
Brilliant as it is though, blood is a right pain to get off your clothes if you ever spill it on them. This is because blood doesn’t know the difference from your skin to your clothes and it does what it’s meant to do and clots – into your fibres!
Arrrgh!
Blood clotting into your clothes turns into a very sticky stain and one that some struggle to remove at all because it’s just so ‘bloody good’ at what it does.
There are some things you can do though, and although these are mostly preventative, you should know about them, to help you avoid unwanted permanent stains in future.
Never allow it to dry!
Blood wants to dry as soon as it’s exposed to the air so you need to combat this act of nature if you get any of it on your clothes.
The simplest answer is to keep it wet. That’s why a cut on your body needs to be kept dry; it’s the opposite. Keep the stain wet and you’ll have a better chance of getting the stain out when you get it to us or to your home to clean it.
Soaking the stain as soon as you can is highly recommended and something you should be able to do wherever you are. Water is fine, and please don’t try to use a detergent that’s not meant for the job as you could well ruin the rest of the garment in the process.
Take it with a pinch (or two) of salt!
Salt is a great stain remover at the time of the incident.Salt, by nature, soaks up liquid and much like the ‘rice and smartphone’ trick, salt will draw the blood out of the garment (when it’s still fresh and wet) and help you to extract the blood from the clothing.
Try not to rub the fibres too much as you’ll push the blood into the fibres more. Simply put a good dose of salt on the stain and help it to sock it up.
Water and salt combined are a great idea in the event of a spillage.
Here’s an ACE idea!
If you have some ACE bleach then once you’ve wet the stain and added some salt, spray some onto the stain before you spin it or soak your garment in a dose of ACE and it will fizz up and magically disappear.
This won’t work so well on an old stain, but on a fresh stain it’s your best bet for removing it.
Here are a few tips on removing blood apart from sending the clothing to us or another professional cleaner:
- Remaining stains can be attacked with a quick soak in a solution of warm water with 1/2 teaspoon of fairy liquid or some laundry detergent and an added tablespoon ammonia. Soak for around 15-20 minutes.
- Scraping the clothing may help on an older stain to lift the blood from the garment. Whilst you do this it’s important to blot with a damp, absorbent cloth too.
- And then dry or launder your garment or send it to a professional to finish off your good work.
The main tip here though is to not let the blood dry in the first place. It really is ‘bloody awkward’ to remove!
If you need help or would like to talk about your laundry (you’d be amazed at what we know!) then please do visit us in Reading or contact us here.
