How to Remove Blood Stains from Clothes and Sheets

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Blood has one strict starting rule: cold water first. Consumer Reports says to rinse blood quickly with cold water and warns that washing in hot water can set some stains, including blood. UGA Extension adds the reason to move fast: treat it immediately, because stains set by heat will be difficult to remove.

What you’ll need

The one thing not to reach for is the hot tap.

Blood is a protein stain, and protease enzymes are used in detergents to help break down blood and other protein soils (Novonesis); Texas A&M says enzyme products aid in removing protein stains such as blood. Use the product label as the dosing authority. A standard liquid laundry detergent↗ covers the detergent step in UGA’s and Consumer Reports’ routes.

If the stain persists after the enzyme soak, Texas A&M’s protein-stain route is to re-launder with detergent and a bleach appropriate for the fabric. It says oxygen bleaches are usually safe for all fabrics and colours, but not for fabrics with flame-retardant finishes, and that powdered bleach packages carry their own colourfastness test.

Why cold water comes first

Iowa State University Extension says protein stains set if exposed to hot water, an iron or a dryer, so a hot wash, the dryer and the iron all wait until the mark is gone. The one warmer step in the routes cited here is the enzyme pre-soak: UGA runs it in lukewarm water, Iowa State in cold to lukewarm water, under 38 °C (100 °F).

If the blood is still wet, start with the fresh steps below. If a stain remains after them, or has already dried, move to the longer soak route.

Blood stain decision table

Choose the route by the state of the stain and by the surface.

Step by step: a fresh blood stain

UGA’s rule is to treat blood immediately. The steps at the top of the article give the order; this section adds where each one comes from and where the sources differ.

1. Rinse in cold water, from the wrong side

UGA rinses fresh stains in cold running water. Texas A&M applies stain remover to the wrong side of the stain, so the stain is forced off the surface and not through the fabric, and flushes it away from the wrong side.

2. Rub in soap or detergent

UGA’s blood page says to rub fresh blood with bar soap or liquid detergent. Consumer Reports rubs detergent into the stain with fingers or a soft toothbrush and lets it sit 10 minutes. Texas A&M’s general spot-treatment rule is different: tamp lightly with a soft brush and do not rub, which may roughen the fabric, damage the fibres or remove colour through abrasion. These are two sources’ own rules, not one rule; the diagram further down shows Texas A&M’s sponge-or-tamp step.

3. Rinse and repeat

UGA rinses again in cold water and repeats.

4. Still there: soak

A mark that survives the rinse moves to the longer route below: a cool soak, then an enzyme pre-soak where the fibre allows it.

5. Wash cold, no heat until it is gone

Consumer Reports washes on a cold cycle. Texas A&M’s heat rule then applies: do not dry the fabric in the dryer or press it until all of the stain has been removed.

Still there, or already dry: the longer route

UGA gives one longer route for blood that remains, without tying it to the stain’s age:

1. Soak in cool water for 30 minutes or longer.
2. If the stain remains, soak 30 minutes or longer in lukewarm water with an enzyme pre-soak. Skip this on silk and wool: the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute says protein enzymes can damage them.
3. Rinse, rub detergent into any remaining stain, and rinse again.
4. If the stain still remains, put a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide on it for 1-3 minutes, rinse thoroughly and launder.

Texas A&M’s protein route runs the same way: after the cool-water steps, soak in an enzyme solution following the package directions, rewash and inspect. If the stain persists, it re-launders with detergent and a bleach appropriate for the fabric.

An oxygen-bleach wash

Oxygen bleach is the bleach Texas A&M calls usually safe for all fabrics and colours. Use it only where the care label does not cross out the bleach triangle.

1. Read and follow the package directions for the oxygen-bleach powder↗, as Texas A&M says to for any product.
2. Run the colourfastness test the package gives.
3. On a coloured garment, bleach the whole garment, not just the spot, to prevent uneven colour removal (Texas A&M).
4. Keep the fabric out of the dryer until all of the stain is gone.

The delicate-fabric route

On silk, wool or anything the care label restricts, stay with Texas A&M’s cool-water, detergent-solution, sponge-or-tamp steps, using a detergent the label allows. Texas A&M’s rule for doubt is to leave it to a professional dry-cleaner and point out the location and type of stain.

Common home hacks: what the sources say

Texas A&M’s general warning covers most kitchen remedies: old remedies are unreliable and may produce an additional stain. Two come up for blood.

Dish soap: a detergent, in two cited methods

Dish detergent does appear in the cited methods. UGA’s wet spotter for wool and silk upholstery uses white dishwashing detergent, and the Sleep Foundation adds 2 or 3 drops of clear dish soap to its mattress solution. Texas A&M warns that coloured detergents can stain fabrics, so stay with a clear or white one.

White vinegar: not in a blood route

None of the real-blood routes cited here (UGA, Texas A&M, Consumer Reports, the Sleep Foundation) uses vinegar, and Texas A&M says white vinegar may change the colour of some dyes. Never mix it with bleach: the CDC links bleach mixed with vinegar or ammonia to chlorine or chloramine gases.

On the go: first aid when you’re away from the tap

You rarely catch blood next to a sink. The goal away from home is to keep the mark treatable until you can follow the full route.

• Blot the excess. Texas A&M says to blot excess liquid from the surface without damaging the fabric.
• Flush with cold water from the wrong side if you can reach a tap, per UGA’s cold running water and Texas A&M’s wrong-side rule.
• Skip anything alcohol-based. Texas A&M says blood is one of the stains set by alcohol.
• Treat it as soon as you can. Texas A&M says old stains may be impossible to remove.

The rule that matters on the go is the same as everywhere else: no dryer or iron until you have confirmed the stain is gone.

When it’s already been dried in

This is the worst case: the item went through a hot wash or the dryer, and the mark is now set. UGA says stains set by heat will be difficult to remove, so treat this as a rescue attempt.

• Start with the same cool-water steps: a soak in cool water, then an enzyme soak on fabrics other than silk and wool.
• If the stain still remains, use 3% hydrogen peroxide only after a hidden-seam test: UGA Extension puts a few drops on the stain for 1-3 minutes, then rinses thoroughly. On a coloured garment, Texas A&M says not to bleach just a spot but the whole garment, to prevent uneven colour removal.
• If it persists, Texas A&M’s last step is a re-launder with detergent and a bleach appropriate for the fabric. The Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute says dried, aged blood needs special chemical reagents and that a dry-cleaner can treat just the stain.

Blood on sheets and bedding

The Sleep Foundation gives sheets their own route, and it starts with getting the sheet off the bed: moving the bedding quickly can help prevent the mattress or carpet from getting stained. For a fresh stain, it submerges the stained part in a bowl of cold water for about five minutes, rinses it cold, then washes the sheets on a cold or gentle setting. For a dried stain, it pretreats with an enzyme-based stain remover following the package, washes cold on a gentle setting within the care tag, and checks the stain before drying, repeating if it is still there.

Blood on a mattress, sofa or carpet

A mattress, an upholstered sofa or a carpet can’t go in the machine, so the goal shifts: lift the blood in place without pushing it further in. UGA’s carpet rule is not to force the stain further into the fibre and to keep blotting until no more stain is removed.

Mattress. For a fresh mark, the Sleep Foundation (external link) dampens a rag with cold water and gently dabs, moving to a clean rag when it gets dirty. For a dried one, it first tests a few drops of the solution on a small area, because hydrogen peroxide can stain some fabrics, then:

1. Spreads a thin layer of baking soda over the stain, leaves it 15 minutes or longer, and vacuums it up.
2. Sprays a mix of about 240 ml (8 US fl oz) of cold water, the same amount of hydrogen peroxide and 2 or 3 drops of clear dish soap until the whole stain is damp.
3. Adds a second thin layer of baking soda and leaves it a few hours or overnight.
4. Brushes, vacuums, wipes with a clean damp rag and then a dry one, repeats if needed, and lets the mattress fully air out.

Upholstered sofa. UGA sponges or blots wet blood with cold water, which it says should remove it, and warns that overwetting can make the upholstery finish migrate and leave a circle. For wool or silk upholstery, its next step is a wet spotter of 1 part glycerin, 1 part white dishwashing detergent and 8 parts cold water under a dampened absorbent pad, kept moist until the stain is gone, then flushed and blotted with cool water.

Carpet. For a synthetic or wool carpet, UGA mixes 5 ml (1 teaspoon) of a mild, non-alkali detergent with about 240 ml (1/2 US pint) of cool water, adds a little to the stain and blots until no more stain is removed.

Treating a mattress and nothing else? Blood on a mattress carries this route on its own page, including what to check before the first dab and where it parts from the garment method.

Menstrual blood and period pants

Menstrual blood is blood, so the same route applies: cold water first, no dryer or iron until the mark is gone. For period underwear, UGA’s rule for any method holds: read the care label first and use nothing it prohibits.

Adapt to the fabric

• Cotton and linen — stronger in water, unless aged or already damaged (Smithsonian MCI). Oxygen bleach and peroxide stay inside the care label and the product label.
• Coloured fabric — pretest every cleaning agent on a hidden area (UGA), and bleach the whole garment, not the spot (Texas A&M). For jeans, see how to wash jeans without fading them.
• Silk and wool — protein fibres that protein enzymes or alkali can damage, and weaker in water. Skip enzyme products, use cool water and a detergent the label allows, and sponge or tamp rather than rub. When in doubt, Texas A&M leaves it to a professional dry-cleaner.

The fibre changes how the stain behaves in water. The Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute notes that water swells natural fibres but not polyester or acrylic, so a water-based stain goes deeper into cotton or linen unless a water-repellent finish has been recently applied, and that wet silk and wool stretch and tear more readily. Texas A&M adds the one label that stops the home route: fabric labelled “dry clean” goes to the cleaner as soon as possible, with the fibre and the stain named.

Two labels end the home route for blood. The words “dry clean” send the garment to a cleaner, and the crossed-out tub means, per GINETEX, that it must not be washed:

Do not wash

Mistakes to avoid

Each of these is ruled out by a source cited above.

The honest bottom line

The useful question is not which remedy is strongest; it is what state the stain is in and what the label allows. Fresh blood on a washable fabric is a cold-water job. A stain that stays gets the soak, enzyme and peroxide order, with silk and wool kept off enzymes. Mattresses, sofas and carpets are treated in place, without forcing the stain further in. Once heat has set the mark, do not expect certainty. For the other end of the spectrum, the grease and oil guide covers a very different stain, and the rest of our stain-removal guides handle everything in between, including the tannins in coffee and red wine.