Just as with skinning a cat or saying I love you (same thing, right?), there are many ways to remove blood stains. Some are better than others, and some are downright weird—for example, saliva will take out a blood stain! That’s a fun thing to know just because it’s strange. But also because it’s handy knowledge when you need to perform blood stain removal on the fly with limited access to cleaning products. If you do have access to cleaning products, these are the ones to reach for to eliminate blood stains.
Solimo Hydrogen Peroxide Spray
Hydrogen peroxide is the standard bearer of blood stain removers, the thing your great aunt will tell you to always reach for when a bloody nose soils your pillowcase, or your new shoes cause a blister to bleed all over your sock. And indeed it works quite well! Buuut. Hydrogen peroxide has one flaw, and it’s a pretty important one to bear in mind: It can have a bleaching effect. So, it’s important to spot test it on an inconspicuous place before applying it and possibly causing irreversible color loss.
Krud Kutter Sports Stain Remover
Krud Kutter Sports Stain Remover is an enzyme-based stain treatment that is excellent at removing blood stains, as well as the following (literal, lol) laundry list of stains: Grass, mud, red clay, sweat, um…*whispers* sexual fluids. It’s very good stuff, is what I’m trying to tell you.
Equate Contact Lens Saline Solution
The combination of cold water and salt is great for getting out blood stains, which is helpful since most of us have salt in our homes, and it’s also fairly easy to find even when you’re away. To use salt on blood stains, get the blood stained item wet, sprinkle some salt on the stain, rub it in a bit then soak the item in cold water. If you’re a contact lens wearer, you can also use your saline solution to achieve a similar effect. Saturate the blood stain with the saline solution, rub it into the fabric, and soak or flush with cold water.
McCormick Non-Seasoned Meat Tenderizer
Here’s another weird and delightful option: Unseasoned meat tenderizer, when mixed with a small amount of water to make a paste, removes blood stains. It’s good to know about not only because it’s weird and delightful, but also because it’s especially good on older, more set-in blood stains, like on a mattress or pillow.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Hand Soap
Well, it’s hardly mind-blowing but sometimes the simplest solutions are just that: solutions. Soap—hand soap, dish soap, bar soap, any soap!—applied directly to a blood stain will almost always take that blood stain right out. Start by wetting the stained area, then apply the soap and rub it in, agitating the fabric against itself. Then, flush the stain with cold running water, and repeat as needed until the blood is gone.