Bloody sheets are no fun, especially when you have to go to bed every night and see the stain. At least with clothes, you can easily wear something else, but most people don’t have too many pairs of sheets to alternate between.
There are a few different ways that you can treat a blood stain on your sheets. You can use an enzyme cleaner, dissolved aspirin, baking soda, cola, hydrogen peroxide and regular soap to remove blood stains. Remember to act quickly and use cold water.
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The key to treating a blood stain is to treat it as soon as it happens
It’s crucial to handle the stain as soon as it happens to ensure the stain comes out completely. If you are not in reach of any solutions, just blot cold water on the stain until you notice the blood start to lift out of the stain.
If you can prevent the blood from not drying on the sheets, that will help tremendously. Make sure the water is not warm because even warm water can increase the size of the stain.
Do NOT use hot water
Some people think the way to deal with a stain of any sort, is to turn the water as hot as it goes, and proceed to sponge out the stain using hot water. Unfortunately, this does not work on blood.
Hot water will only heat up the blood stain and spread it even more on your sheets. Do not use hot water. Only use cold water to treat a blood stain. Not only does hot water make the stain bigger, but you can run the risk of shrinking your sheets. For best results only use cold water.
Aspirin can remove blood stains from your sheets
Aspirin can do more than just prevent headaches. With only two crushed tablets and a little water, you can remove a blood stain drastically or until it’s gone.
- Crush up two aspirin tablets and mix enough water in until you form a paste.
- Apply the mixture directly to the stain and leave on for a minimum of thirty minutes.
- Rinse off the mixture using cold water and wash as usual.
You can leave this aspirin mixture on for hours for best results, depending on the size and depth of the stain and how long the stain has been there for.
Enzyme cleaners are powerful stain removers
Enzyme cleaners are effective, natural, non-toxic stain-removing cleaners that work really well against blood stains.
- Soak your sheets with an enzyme cleaner diluted with a 1 to 3 ratio of cold water.
- Soak the sheets in the enzyme cleaner for fifteen minutes before you throw them into the wash.
- Wash in cold water and the stain should be gone or much better than it was before. If the solution is not powerful enough add a few more drops of an enzyme cleaner.
We recommend the super effective Life Miracle Natural Enzyme cleaner or you can even make your own.
Baking Soda always gets the job done
Baking soda is a miracle ingredient for removing just about any stain that you get on a piece of your clothing. Basically, the same routine applies to baking soda as you would with an aspirin.
- Mix about 1 TBSP of baking soda with 2 TBSP of water to form a paste.
- Apply the paste directly onto the stain and leave it on for 30 minutes or more.
- Rinse the stain off with cold water or throw your sheets into the wash through a cold-water rinse.
- Let air dry and the stain should be better.
Coca Cola can also remove blood stains
Cola might come as a surprise but if it does the trick; it’s worth the try. Cola is something that you can find just about anywhere, which makes it a very convenient ingredient. The chemicals in cola will help with lifting the stain so when it’s time to throw the sheets in the wash; it comes out a lot easier.
Hydrogen Peroxide is great for removing a blood stain on your sheets
If you have lighter colour sheets, hydrogen peroxide is good at removing the stain because of the powerful components in the solution. Use a 1:2 ratio of hydrogen peroxide to cold water and blot the stain. Leave it on for 30 minutes then rinse off in cold water.
Use liquid or a bar of soap or laundry detergent
In addition to some more atypical methods, good old soap or detergent will also be effective on blood stains. Any type of soap will do the trick.
- Rub the bar of soap onto the stain or apply 1 tbsp of liquid soap or laundry detergent.
- Rub in the mixture really well.
- Leave on for up to one hour.
- Rinse off the solution using cold water only.
Frequently asked questions about blood stains
Why should you not use hot water on a blood stain?
Hot water is never good to use on a blood stain because the heat from the water will heat up the stain and make that stain spread even more. You do not want the stain to spread when your end goal is removing the stain. Use cold water for the best results.
Why is cold water effective at removing blood stains?
The proteins in blood will bind to the fabric of your sheets, and hot water it will adhere to the fabric, spreading the stain. Use cold water instead to blot as much of the blood out as possible, or flush with cold water.
The water will flush the blood out and help eliminate the stain completely. For best results, treat when the stain is wet and fresh.
Is getting a blood stain preventable?
Life happens and sometimes we get blood stains on the sheets. If you are a woman on your period, make sure to use appropriate sanitary products for night time use, to prevent leaking. If you have a very heavy flow and suffer from leaks, it could be a good idea to sleep on an old towel when you’re at your heaviest flow nights.
Don’t worry if an accident does happen, just use the ingredients listed in this article to deal with the mess.
If you don’t notice the stain right away and it seems set, check out this article to learn how to remove old period stains from sheets and clothes.
Do blood stains come out of every material of sheets?
Again, it all depends on the depth of the stain. However, if you use the proper solution to treat the stain on the corresponding material it should improve the stain or take it out completely.
Certain materials may take more diligence when it comes to eliminating it. Try a couple of different solutions until you find one that works. Make sure you do not mix all the ingredients together as it could make the stain a lot worse. Do not create your own science experiment for this.
Read here to learn how to remove blood stains from clothes, carpet or car upholstery if you end up with a blood stain outside of the bedroom.
Keep your sheets blood stain free
When dealing with a blood stain, make sure you treat it with cold water and act quickly. You can get rid blood stains with enzyme cleaner, hydrogen peroxide or baking soda. You can also use surprising things like cola or aspirin that’s been dissolved in water.
