How to Remove Blood Stains from Carpet and Fabrics

Everyone tries to avoid making blood stains, but you can’t avoid the nicks, cuts, scrapes and nosebleeds that occur every once in a while. In an idea world, you would always bleed outside in the grass or over unimportant concrete, but it seems that we always create stains on the surfaces from which they are the most difficult to remove. Follow these steps to remove blood stains from carpet and fabrics.

Remove Blood Stains from Carpet and Fabrics: Don’t Let It Set

The longer a blood stain is allowed to set, the more difficult it will be to remove. With carpet, the blood will seep down into the fibers underneath the surface, which will cause the stain to appear no matter how long or hard you scrub the carpet. With fabric, the blood stain will penetrate all fibers, especially once it’s been allowed to coagulate. Even though most carpets are stain-resistant, you’ll have a hard time removing dried and coagulated blood.

Remove Blood Stains from Carpet and Fabrics: Sponge With Cold Water

You should never use hot water to remove a blood stain from either carpet or fabric because the heat will speed the drying and setting process. Get a tub of cool or cold water and a clean sponge or rag, then lightly begin sponging the stain from the outermost edges to the center of the stain. If you try to sponge outward, you can spread the stain, which will make it that much harder to remove.

Remove Blood Stains from Carpet and Fabrics: Blot Dry

Once you’ve sponged the blood stain carefully for several minutes, use a clean sponge or cloth to mop up the excess water. Again, make sure to use outer-to-inner strokes to avoid spreading what’s left of the stain. If you are concerned about spreading it, you can always use a shop-vac or other suction device to dry the area. You should also avoid pressing down on the stain, as that will help to set it faster.

Remove Blood Stains from Carpet and Fabrics: Repeat Process

Continue repeating the cold water and drying until you can’t get the sponge to bring any red out of the carpet or fabric. Make sure that you allow the water to dry thoroughly between each sponging; let a fan blow over it or set a towel with something heavy on top of it.

Remove Blood Stains from Carpet and Fabrics: Scrub with Club Soda

If the cold water sponging doesn’t remove enough of the stain, you can use club soda to extract the remnants. This will work on some types of carpet and fabrics, but not all. It is especially helpful with thin carpets and fabrics as you are able to get to all the fibers that contain the blood stain. Just make sure to use a soft sponge or rag; even though you can scrub with the club soda, you don’t want to damage the fibers in the carpet or fabric.

Remove Blood Stains from Carpet and Fabrics: Try a Wet Spotter

A wet spotter is a combination of cool water, glycerin and dishwashing detergent, which can remove some blood stains that plain water and club soda won’t touch. Make sure that the solution contains at least 80% water, with only a cup or two of glycerin. Use cold water versus hot, and shake the solution thoroughly before applying it to the stain. My wife stores this solution in a spray bottle and sprays it directly onto stains, though a squeeze bottle (like what contact solution comes in) will work just as well. Squirt a few sprays or drops onto the stain and scrub it with a sponge or rag in a circular pattern.

Be sure to wipe up the solution when you’re finished and to flush it with cool water to remove it from the fibers. If your pets were to lick the carpet or fabric after you were finished, it could cause them to be sick.