Getting out dried blood!

1374 Views 14 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Jane, Apr 15, 2009

boogiebearlove

Discussion Starter · Apr 10, 2009

I had a home birth and when the baby came everyone forgot that I had bought a bunch of towels for the birth, and instead grabbed a quilt my great grandmother made me! I had a really bad couple of weeks after the birth, and for some reason it was one of the only things that didn't make it into the wash the day of with everything else. Anyway, it is dried blood now, and I read somewhere to wash it with a cup of salt, and then wash it again with regular detergent. I think that is for fresh blood, but I'm hoping it will work now. Should I use hot or cold water? Hot seems obvious to me, but I don't want to mess up. And if you have any other ideas for getting this dried (but never washed) blood out of my quilt please share!

1 - 15 of 15 Posts

Beauchamp

· #2 · Apr 10, 2009

Have you tried treating it with hydrogen peroxide? My MW has two large bottles of this on my HB supply list, specifically for getting out blood. You could try this in an inconspicuous place before washing.

moondiapers

· #3 · Apr 10, 2009

COLD water defenitely.

Boizalynne

· #4 · Apr 10, 2009

My midwife used peroxide and let it set, then washed it. It seemed to work really well...

sunflowergirll

· #5 · Apr 10, 2009

I work in the medical field. I frequently use hydrogen peroxide to get blood out of my clothes.

boogiebearlove

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 10, 2009

Thanks! I'll definitely try hydrogen peroxide! The reason I'm worried about cold water is because it seems to me it would set the stain. Is that wrong?

Vancouver Mommy

· #7 · Apr 10, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogiebearlove

View Post

Thanks! I'll definitely try hydrogen peroxide! The reason I'm worried about cold water is because it seems to me it would set the stain. Is that wrong?

No, hot will set the stain. You have to use cold with a protein stain.

See less See more

heatherh

· #8 · Apr 10, 2009

I have always used COLD water to get blood out. But it's usually fresh - I would still try that before using anything else. You can always try other things next.

boogiebearlove

Discussion Starter · #9 · Apr 10, 2009

Okay, thanks!!

jocelyndale

· #10 · Apr 11, 2009

I would do a cold/cold wash first. If you still see bloodstains, try a cold soak with some oxyclean (or another oxygen bleach).

I've removed old crusty blood with hydrogen peroxide, but they were jeans and super sturdy. You could try that, of course, but it *can* bleach some fabrics, depending on the dye.

The important thing to do is to NOT dry it. You can hang it in the sun, but don't use the dryer until the stain is completely gone.

fallriverfox

· #11 · Apr 11, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by jocelyndale

View Post

The important thing to do is to NOT dry it. You can hang it in the sun, but don't use the dryer until the stain is completely gone.

Word! And hanging it in the sun may help remove the stain too.

See less See more

MidwifeErika

· #12 · Apr 11, 2009

Oxyclean works wonders on dry blood. In fact, I would use a scrubby brush and oxyclean on the spot (after wetting the spot with cold water) and scrub away on it if the hydrogen peroxide doesn't do the trick. I have known people who actually make a paste out of oxyclean and hydrogen peroxide to scrub stuff out. Always wash in cold and you can try this as often as you need to.

Vancouver Mommy

· #13 · Apr 14, 2009

I wonder what would work on the almost 4 year old blood stain on the synthetic carpet under my bed?

mandalin24kd

· #14 · Apr 15, 2009

Peroxide!!!!!!! Works awesome!

Jane

· #15 · Apr 15, 2009

Peroxide!! Just keep working at it until there's no stain at all.

Then, wash like diapers. A cold rinse cycle, followed by a wash. I like to pretreat any stains with spray and wash, and add tide + oxyclean to the wash cycle.

1 - 15 of 15 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.