Blood stains can look alarming at first, but they are usually very manageable if you treat them the right way. To remove blood stains from clothes, start with cold water, gently rinse or blot the stain, treat it with laundry detergent or an enzyme-based stain remover, and avoid heat until the stain is completely gone.
The most important thing to remember is this: do not use hot water and do not put the item in the dryer until the blood stain is removed. Heat can set a blood stain and make it much harder to remove.
This guide will walk you through how to remove blood stains from clothes, sheets, and other washable fabrics whether the stain is fresh or already dried.
We’ve all been there—you notice a spot of blood on your favorite shirt, sheets, or fabric and panic sets in. The good news? With the right steps, you can remove that stain and revive your garment. Keep reading for how to remove blood stains from clothes whether the stains are fresh or dried.
Note: this method of removing blood stains works on most fabrics including cottons, blends, polyesters and acetates.
What to Know Before Treating Blood Stains
Blood is a protein-based stain, which means it responds best to cold water and enzyme-based stain removers.
Before you start, keep these simple rules in mind:
- Use cold water first.
- Treat the stain before washing if possible.
- Do not use hot water.
- Do not iron the stained area.
- Do not put the item in the dryer until the stain is gone.
- Check the stain after washing and before drying.
If the fabric is delicate, vintage, dry-clean-only, or likely to bleed color, test your stain remover in a hidden spot first or take it to a professional cleaner.
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.
Supplies You May Need
You may not need every item on this list, but these are helpful for removing blood stains from washable fabric:
- Cold water
- Liquid laundry detergent – Tide is the one I always use because it’s the best
- Enzyme-based stain remover – Shout and Zout are popular brands
- Oxygen-based cleaner, such as OxiClean (my favorite)
- A clean white cloth or paper towel
- A small laundry brush or soft toothbrush
- A basin, bucket, or sink for soaking
How to Remove Fresh Blood Stains from Clothes
Fresh blood stains are usually much easier to remove than dried blood stains. If you can treat the stain right away, you have a much better chance of removing it completely.
‘Fresh’ blood means that the blood stain still smears and hasn’t fully dried yet.
Step 1: Rinse with Cold Water
Hold the stained area under cold running water. If possible, rinse from the back of the fabric so the water pushes the blood out instead of driving it deeper into the fibers.
Gently rub the fabric with your fingers (very lightly scratch at it) as the water runs through it. Do not scrub aggressively, especially on thin or delicate fabric, as it will ruin the look of the fabric.
Continue rinsing until the water runs mostly clear or the stain has lightened. If the stain is fresh enough, you will probably see the stain completely disappear.
Step 2: Treat the Stain
Add a small amount of liquid laundry detergent or an enzyme-based stain remover directly to the stained area.
Gently work it into the fabric with your fingers or a soft laundry brush.
Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes if the fabric can tolerate it.
Step 3: Wash the Item
Wash the garment as you normally would, using cool or warm water. If the stain was still noticeable after rinsing under cold water, add oxygen-based cleaner or an enzyme cleaner to the wash.
Do not use hot water.
If you are unable to wash immediately, leave the clothing to soak in a panful of plain, cold water. Use only cold water in the bucket or pan. There is no need to use any other detergents or laundry additives when soaking.
Then you have time to deal with the stain, wash it in the machine with a scoop of Oxi Clean as described.
Why cold water? Cold water will prevent the stain from setting in until you are able to launder it. You can leave the stain in water for up to 12-18 hours.
Read more here: Laundry Basics: Choosing the Water Temperature
Step 4: Let the Item Air Dry
Let the item hang dry. Do not dry it in the dryer.
When an item is wet, it will fool you into looking as if the stain has completely disappeared. Please trust me on this one.
The only real way to know if the stain is completely removed is when the clothing item is dry. If you dry it in the dryer it will set the remaining stain in, so always hang dry.
Remember that blood stains hate heat.
How to Remove Dried Blood Stains from Clothes
Dried blood stains take more time, but they can often still be removed.
Step 1: Rinse with Cold Water
Hold the stained fabric under cold running water. Gently work the fabric with your fingers to help loosen the dried blood.
Note: Do not pick at the stain.
If there is a significant portion of dried blood trapped in the fabric, it will be removed either under the running water or in the next step. If you pick at the fabric, you might break the fibers which would put a hole in your garment. This creates another problem, so don’t do that!
Step 2: Soak the Stained Item
Fill a basin, bucket, or sink with cold water. Add an oxygen-based cleaner or enzyme-based laundry cleaner according to the product directions.
Let the stained item soak. For stubborn dried blood stains, this may take several hours.
Soaking a stained item is not hard, but it does take a bit of time. I have a helpful tutorial on How to Soak Stained Clothes, so click over if you need step-by-step directions.
After soaking, very gently rub the stained area and check the progress.
Step 3: Wash as Usual
Wash the item in the washing machine using cool or warm water. Use your regular detergent and add an enzyme cleaner or oxygen-based cleaner if needed.
Step 4: Air Dry and Repeat if Needed
Hang the item to dry or lay it flat to dry. Do not put it in the dryer until you are completely satisfied with the stain removal.
If you can still see the blood stain, repeat the soaking and washing process. Some dried blood stains take more than one round.
How to Get Blood Out of Sheets and Bedding
If you have blood on sheets or bedding, treat the stain as soon as you reasonably can.
First, remove the sheets from the bed. Rinse the stained area with cold water. For larger bedding items, it may be easier to use the bathtub faucet or shower sprayer instead of a small sink.
If you have a top-loader washing machine, you may be able to fill the washer with cold water and let the sheets soak before washing.
Use whatever cycle your machine offers that will let the sheets soak in cold water for the longest time possible. Then launder with detergent on cool or warm.
Hang sheets to air dry on the line if possible to make sure the stains are removed to your satisfaction.
Does Alcohol Remove Blood Stains?
Rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol may help with some stains, but it is not my first choice for blood stains.
Blood is a protein-based stain, so I usually start with cold water, laundry detergent, enzyme-based stain remover, or oxygen-based cleaner. Those methods are more reliable for the kinds of blood stains I have treated over the years.
Alcohol can also be risky on some fabrics and dyes. If you decide to try rubbing alcohol, test it in a hidden spot first and use it carefully.
For most washable clothes, I would start with cold water and an enzyme-based stain remover before reaching for rubbing alcohol.
What Not to Do When Removing Blood Stains
There are a few common mistakes that can make blood stains worse.
Do not use hot water first.
Hot water can set protein-based stains, including blood. Always start with cold water.
Do not put the item in the dryer too soon – or at all.
Dryer heat can set any remaining stain. Check the fabric carefully before drying.
I personally never dry a stained item in the dryer. I always hang dry first.
Do not iron the stained area.
Ironing adds heat, which can set the stain.
Do not scrub delicate fabric aggressively.
Very gentle rubbing is fine, but hard scrubbing can damage fabric fibers.
Do not use chlorine bleach carelessly.
Chlorine bleach can be used on blood stains. Use very cautiously since:
a) bleach can definitely lift the color from a fabric and
b) bleach weakens fabric fibers when used full-strength.
Follow the directions carefully on the bleach container. Also, if you have hard water (well water), the bleach can possibly make the blood stain worse. Just use with caution.
More Tips for Removing Blood Stains
If possible, dry the item in the sunshine after treating and washing. Sunshine can help lighten remaining discoloration on some fabrics and is one of my favorite bleach alternatives.
For stubborn stains, repeat the process instead of giving up too early. Many blood stains can be removed even after they are old or dried, but they may need more than one treatment.
If your front loader has a Steam Treat cycle, set it on this cycle for blood stain removal. It works like a charm to completely remove the stain. Make sure you rinse under cold running water first. It is not a magic machine, after all.
If the item is valuable, delicate, or sentimental, do not experiment too aggressively. A professional cleaner may be the safest choice.
More Stain Removal Help
If you are working through laundry stains, these posts may also help:
- How to Soak Stained Clothes
- List of Sunscreens that Will Prevent Sunscreen Stains
- How to Remove Sunscreen Stains
- How to Remove Mildew from Clothes
- Laundry Basics: Choose the Correct Water Temperature
Do you have a specific question about removing blood stains from clothes, sheets, or fabric? Leave a comment and I’ll try to help.
- 1.2Kshares
- Facebook39
- Pinterest82
- Print246
- Twitter221
- Email465
My son used to get nose bleeds when he was little & I always found that spraying a little peroxide on the blood stain & washing in cold water did the trick. It also works on grass stains as well.
Just try the peroxide on blood stain and it work very quickly . I am very impress with simple solution!
Pam
Nashville,Tn
Living on a farm my husband gets blood in his clothes frequently. We have found that Peroxide on the stain, even after it has dried works great.
Good to know! Thanks for commenting 😉
-Lauren
Cathy,
What strength peroxide?
JC
I also have had good luck with peroxide. When I was in the hospital the nurse drawing my blood got it all over my gown. I dabbed it on untill the stain was out.
I would agree with the commenters above who say hydrogen peroxide has worked for them for blood stain removal. It is actually one of the two ingredients that Oxiclean forms when it is mixed with water — hydrogen peroxide and washing soda. That is why Oxiclean works so well on blood stains. I’ve also used Carbona Stain Devil # 4 for blood stains with great success. I pour it on and the stain disappears immediately, with just a bit of rubbing, even before laundering. I even used this on a mattress pad I bled on after my time of the month!
I have a small blood stain that has dried on my cream curtains, I’ve tried the salt solution but it didn’t work. I’m a bit scared to use hydrogen peroxide in case it bleaches fabric, what do you advise! I also tried WD40, nothing!!
I would always assume peroxide will bleach the fabric unless you know for absolute sure it won’t. It’s a bleach. There are a lot of commercial enzyme stain treaters like OxyClean spray, Zout, Shout, etc. that will work on colored fabric without bleaching it most of the time.
I poured Amonia on blood stain from a broken vessel in my nose. It was a day after I came home from hospital & it vanished immediately, but I left it in a bowl of cold water. No stains remained.
Salt will also remove blood. Saturate the stain with cold water, pour on salt, add a little water to make a “salt paste”. Let sit overnight.
I’ve never heard of using salt! I’ll have to try that next time.
Thanks!
-Lauren
Hi, I have a problem that I hope you can help with. I bought a new couch a couple months ago that is a corduroy type fabric, DRY CLEAN ONLY Type S. My cat walked across it with a hurt paw and left bloody prints. I had purchased a warranty for stains and called the company. First they sent me the wrong product; for washable fabrics, then sent me the appropriate dry cleaner several days later. Since the stain is now 2 weeks old, I am having problems lifting the stain completely. It is a light sage green colored fabric and the stain still shows. Is there anything else I can do? I have the feeling that the company won’t be of much help. Note to self (and others) beware of these warranties, I paid $100. (to cover couch and loveseat) for a very small bottle of cleaner that doesn’t work. And they said it only covers one stain event! Thanks for any advise you have.
Patrice, I am not very experienced in upholstery stains. My bloggy friend Taylor from Stain Removal 101 is the girl to talk to. Here is a post she wrote on cleaning upholstery stains. Scroll down to the bottom of the post and she addresses Type S stains.
I’m sure she’d be happy to help you if you have questions.
-Lauren
I used hydrogen peroxide on my seafoam green couch. I just poured a little on, waited for it to bubble, dabbed it up and poured a little more on. I have used hydrogen peroxide to get blood out of all sorts of things. I think it would be worth a try if you are out of options. I know a lot of people worry about hydrogen peroxide bleaching their fabrics, but it is a color safe bleach. I use some with every load of laundry for several years and never have any problems.
You are very fortunate it didn’t remove the color from the fabric! It does depend on the type of fabric, though.
I washed an ink pen with ALL of my scrubs many years ago and ruined the whole load. All of my uniforms! It was tragic. I tried to get the ink out with hydrogen peroxide and it bleached them terribly.
My advice is to use it on an inside seam and see if it will lift the color. If it doesn’t, you’re good to go!
-Lauren 🙂
Ah, thanks so much! Put my sheets in the cold washer, and watched the stain actually start disappearing when I held it under the cold water. Absolutely wonderful!
I think I know where to go if I have any more laundry questions.
So glad the stain came out so well! It’s so nice to watch it disappear before one’s eyes!
Really informative blog.Thanks Again. Cool.
Recently, my mom’s dog had a problem with his ear. it wouldn’t stop bleeding. My mom applied pressure and it would stop just long enough for her to set him down. The dog would shake his head and blood went everywhere. We had a 2 hour drive and finally made it home. Mom’s skirt was full of blood. She took a shower and put the skirt in the laundry hamper. I had planned to do laundry that day. Well, things came up and i finally got to the skirt 4 days later. So, it was dried in. I wish now I had taken pictures of before and after.
I soaked the skirt in peroxide. And hung it up to dry. There were a few spots where the blood was heavy and the stain didn’t come out. So, i soaked it again. All the stains are gone and I’m a firm believer that the peroxide will get out any blood stain!
Karen, I’m so glad that the blood came out of your mom’s skirt. Yes, peroxide will get out most any blood stain, but it will also bleach some types of fabric. Glad you got out unscathed. 😉
I had a very unsightly blood stain on my white sheets but surprisingly I removed it pretty easy. What I have done was to soak the sheets in cold water and 2 tablespoons of salt for 30 minutes, and then to wash them in my washing machine at the lowest possible temperature. After this the stain was completely gone.
Soap is the best solution … trust me! rub soap on the blood area. leave it for 3 minutes. then rub and raise it with water. 100% works!
This is the result I got when I tried to remove the dried blood stain on my shirt:
I spat on it and rubbed… blood stain still there
Tide To Go stick… blood stain still there
Tide With Bleach Alternative… blood stain still there
Purex Plus Oxi and Zout… blood stain still there
Water and salt… blood stain still there
I was feeling SOOO frustrated and was ready to give up when my friend told me to buy a lemon, cut it in half, and rub it all over the dried blood stain. She says for sure it will get it out. She’s done it a million times. So I did what she said, and LITERALLY, 30 seconds later, the dried blood stain was COMPLETELY GONE!!!! I LITERALLY saw it disappear right in front of my eyes!!!! As if it was never there!!!
That’s my experience anyways! Hope this helps!
My husband got blood (from shaving) on a white shirt last night which dried. I just sat it in bleach today (just the neck part with the blood on) for 3 hours then the blood totally vanished! It’s now in the washing machine. If it’s white clothing just apply regular bleach.
Yes, you can apply bleach, but you must be careful due to the type of fabric. Bleach can quickly eat a hole in some fabrics when used full strength.
Also, the blood wasn’t on your husband’s shirt for long, so it hadn’t had time to set. Since you washed it so quickly (good for you!!), you had a great chance of removing it.
Glad the stain come out!
So, I went to this forum after having one of my favorite dresses (100% cotton) dry cleaned with a blood stain. After looking at all of the forums, I was convinced that because the stain had presumably “bonded” with the fabric, there was no hope! However, a bit of dish washing detergent (thanks “the cat did it”), a healthy dosing of “Shout” and some concentrated scratching with my fingernail followed by vigorously rubbing the cloth together, the stain slowly began to fade, and with significantly sore hands in the process, by the end the stain was gone. Because I did all of this I’m not sure what did the trick and what part of this process might have been expendable, but I was THRILLED! I’m telling you that this stain was thoroughly entrenched so if it worked in this situation, it should work for most!!
Jacqui, I am so thrilled for you and your result! Excellent!
Great tips to share with others in your similar situation. 🙂
so I have washed and dryed bedding with blood stains from nose bleed. Is it too late?
Great article. I am going to try with peroxide next time. I have a son who is really naughty. He so often heart himself that I am getting used to clean blood from his clothes. Thank you for sharing your article! Greets!
Cloth diapering mom here! You don’t need to wait for a sunny day to get organic stains out of fabric! Even on a cloudy day the UV rays that break down stains can get down to earth! I set my daughter’s diapers in front of the window when they get a little too dingy and they are perfectly white after a day, even when it’s rainy and dismal.
I got a stain on my bed sheet and thought that putting hot water on it would help. It was so stupid of me and I should’ve done some research first. I thought the hot water was helping because the stain started to get a little bit lighter. Is there anything that I can do now? Please help! As soon as I read this I started dabbing it with cold water but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything.
Hey Maggie,
Yes, blood sets pretty quickly with hot water, I’m afraid. You can always try doing The Soak to see if that will help!
Another idea my grandmother taught me as a child (I had MANY nosebleeds) was to take some of my own saliva and dab the blood spot. As it has been stated many times in this article, blood is protein based, and such is your own saliva which will break down your own blood.
My grandmother made custom upholstery & slipcovers all her life. Surely she stabbed her fingers a few times with pins and needles. She said over the years you of course would get blood on the fabric. And so a person much older that her back in the 50’s taught her that as soon as she got blood on the fabric to quickly take some of her saliva and rub it on the blood spot and it would come right out….and it surely does!
Yes, excellent tip, Mike!
If you only have a very small blood spot, saliva is a great remedy.
Thanks!
-Lauren 🙂
My great Aunt worked for Edith Head at Universal studios in Hollywood the 1930s. When blood got on costumes as it often did, they put a wad of threads into their mouth then laid it onto the stain. and left it to its work. The stain disappeared. I have never before heard of this from anyone else except from that dear Aunty. It works.
Thanks for the second witness,
ellie
I have used Biz for years to soak blood-stained sheets or clothing and it always worked great. But recently it stopped working and I couldn’t figure out why. I asked the manufacturer if they had changed their formula but they said no. So I tried Oxiclean, and that worked for awhile, even on sheets previously soaked in Biz where the stain hadn’t come out. Oxiclean also worked well on T-shirts for awhile. But then I started noticing that it was bleaching out the color from the area where the stain was, and it changed the texture of the fabric so that the stained/treated area became hard and rough. So I had to quit using it for T-shirts. And then it quit working on sheets! So now I am stuck with several sheets and shirts that have been previously treated in Biz or Oxiclean or both without the stains coming out, and I’m completely baffled as to why these products don’t work any more. I’ve been able to get the blood and rough texture out of some of the shirts by pretreating with Resolve (also called Spray ‘n’ Wash) and washing with regular detergent. But most of the time that doesn’t work. Help!
Cathy, how strange! I have only had Oxi Clean lift the color on a few garments over the years. It’s rare, but definitely can happen.
So the question becomes of course: How do I remove stains from clothes/laundry?
You might just have to go through the gamut of laundry stain removal products before finding one that works well with your particular water and washer. If I were you, I’d start with Rit Super Stain Remover and see if it works. Unlike other Rit products, it’s a stain remover NOT a dye.
Unlike Oxi Clean, Biz, etc. it goes on specific stain areas and isn’t a stain remover that you pour into the washer. Just FYI.
Best wishes in figuring out what works for you!
-Lauren 🙂
Hi —
I’ve got a couple large-drip-sized dried blood stains on a polyester slipcover. Fortunately the cloth is cranberry-colored, but the stains still show — at least if you know where they are, and enough to bother me. I did dab at the blood with cold water on a paper towel when it was fresh, but haven’t treated it beyond that, and it dried to a couple of dark circles.
I’m concerned about lifting the color from the fabric, and also about putting the cushion cover (one of two) through the wash, since that might affect its color and the sofa would be mismatched. Same concern for soaking.
Should I just forget it and count myself lucky that it wasn’t a white sofa? Or is there a way to do it (given the above concerns) that won’t risk making it worse?
Thanks!
Father helped with laundry and stuck my levi’s in the dryer before i had a chance to check the blood stain. It was not gone. I really like these jeans and was wondering if bleaching them would remove the stain. I have no problem with whitening them if it would work…..
I was away and my husband cut his finger and got blood on out viscose/nylon off-white velvet bedspread. Even though the label says ‘dry clean only’ do you think I can still try your oxyclean method? Thanks!
I think lemons are the best for removal of stains.
Thank you for all the details and possible solutions you listed in this article, I found it to be very helpful!
My niece machine dried her fitted sheet without fully removing a menstrual stain first. The sheet is peach colored. I had good luck spot treating the stain with peroxide and then applying heat with an old blow drier that gets too hot to use for anything else. A warm iron should work. The combination of hydrogen peroxide (regular first aid stuff) and heat faded the old set-in stain to invisible after a few tries.
As a general laundry stain remover, I use equal parts of water / hydrogen peroxide / dish washing liquid (usually a grease-cutting one). I found this combination somewhere on the internet a few years ago (I’m sorry I don’t know to whom I should give credit!), and it’s worked quite well on many types of stains since. I mix it in a spray bottle, spray it on the stain and let it sit for 15 – 30 minutes before washing. It’s worked well on blood for most of my family, but one child’s blood remains stubborn to remove no matter what I do to it. (Her own saliva does work, but bigger stains are a problem.) I have an item with her blood soaking in the solution now, and afterward I am going to try soaking it with salt in the washer as another reader suggested.
Thank you for this post, Lauren! It is with appreciation to you and other bloggers that I have been able to find successful solutions like this!
I’m so glad it was helpful! Yes, I too love all of the wonderful information on the internet that makes my home life easier! 🙂
Lauren
Does having a coat dry cleaned impact stai removal
Hey Suzanne,
Do you mean will it prevent stain removal in the future? Or does it work well for stain removal? I’m not totally sure what you’re asking.
In my experience, dry cleaning can do very well with stain removal on certain fabrics, especially items like wool. The solvents that are used can be specifically applied for grease stains or blood stains or fill-in-the-blank.
If your coat is compatible with dry cleaning, I’d say give it a try and see what happens.
Warmly,
Lauren
Well I about to make the big mistake of pouring boiling water over the blood stain.. Fortunately, I decided to google and found out to use cold. My stain was relatively small and only a about 10hrs old.
I put the cotton fabric stain face down on a colander and then got an ice cube to rub on the stain while the cold water created a puddle. The stain came out immediately.
Excellent, Celine! I love hearing stain success stories! Ha! 🙂
Lauren
I came down to the comments section to say that actually, peroxide IS an excellent solvent for blood stains and stains from pretty much any bodily-fluid-type substance. You can tell this by the way it instantly creates a foam when it comes into contact with this kind of organic matter. If your cat poops in your bathtub and leaves a bile stain (don’t ask), a squirt of peroxide from a spray bottle can make it vanish right before your eyes. But it is a bleach and I wouldn’t use it on anything that you don’t want white.
i usually use soap to remove blood stain. And the most important things is not used hot water.
I have used Biz for years to soak blood-stained sheets or clothing and it always worked great. I got a stain on my bed sheet and thought that putting hot water on it would help. It was so stupid of me and I should’ve done some research first. I thought the hot water was helping because the stain started to get a little bit lighter. I’ve been able to get the blood and rough texture out of some of the shirts by pretreating with Resolve (also called Spray ‘n’ Wash) and washing with regular detergent. But most of the time that doesn’t work. Help!