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How To Get A Blood Stain Out Of A Quilt

Quilts can write a thousand stories throughout the years. It stays throughout your home, and it can get a little sentimental. However, through the test of time, your favorite quilt may develop stains that can forever leave a mark, like blood stains. Removing a blood stain on your favorite fabric is definitely a tedious task, especially when it’s dried. If you’re wondering how to get the blood off your favorite quilt, you’re in the right place.

Grab your favorite soap solution as we brush deep through the steps of how to get blood stains out of your marvelous quilt!

Why are blood stains so hard to remove from a quilt fabric?

blood stain on quilt

It is because of the clotting ability of hemoglobin in the blood. When exposed to air this clotting ability helps wounds close and heal faster. In fabrics, this property makes it hard to remove stains on fabrics. Although this healing property surely becomes a unique identity that helps us biologically, it becomes a curse when it comes into contact with your favorite quilt as it also binds to any surface, including different types of fabric, making it hard to get rid of.

Steps In Removing Blood Stain From A Quilt

Scared to lose your favorite quilt over a blood stain? Fret no more. Get your washing kits ready: salt, lemon, detergent, and water! Here’s a step-by-step process on how to remove blood stains from your priced quilts!

1. Identify your fabric

Some fabric requires different types of blood stain removal techniques. For thick fabrics, light dabbing is recommended because it is hard to dry. However, if it’s light, we suggest soaking it to remove as much stain as possible.

2. Identify the stain

Is it dry? Is it fresh? Is it big? Is it small? Identify the stain, as this will help us determine the stain removing process. For example, if the stain is dry, then we need to clean the fabric more thoroughly than when the stain is fresh as if it is fresh, we can just soak it and dry. We also need to identify the size. If it’s just small clots, then it’s okay to do it by yourself. However, if the stain is big, it is recommended to seek help from a professional bioremediation company as blood contains harmful pathogens like Hepatitis B and C, HIV, and the like.

3. Get your cold water ready

Treat your blood-stained quilt with cold water as it breaks the stains faster. If you’re dealing with a lightweight fabric, you can soak it in cold water for a while. On the other hand, if your fabric is thick, you can add 1 tsp of salt in 2 cups of cold water and dab it on your fabric.

4. Saturate

If you can’t remove the stains by running or soaking it in the cold water, saturating them with the following mixtures might help: cold water and salt, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or lemon juice.

5. Wash as usual

After finishing steps 1-4, grab your detergents as you can now wash your quilts as usual. Sometimes, these steps are enough to remove an ever-taxing blood stain. However, if it still has some blood residue left, DO NOT THROW IT INTO THE DRYER, as heat helps the stain set into the fabric, making it harder to remove. We recommend drying your quilt under the sun as it bleaches the stain out of your favorite fabrics.

6. Have patience

Washing a blood-stained quilt is indeed exhausting with all of the steps that you need to go through.

Myths of Cleaning Blood Out Of A Quilt:

Cleaning a blood-stained quilt comes with a lot of myths that can either help or make the stains on your beloved fabric worse, and it’s imperative that we should stop a hoax before it can fool us. With that said, here are five of the most common myths debunked and clarified just for you!

1. Cleaning blood stains with bleach is a way to go.

It has been long established that bleach is our ultimate go-to sanitizing ingredient. However, according to a study by Educating Wellness, bleach is a highly corrosive material that harms your health when inhaled. In addition, bleach easily ruins a lot of types of fabric, even rugs, carpets, and other furnishings. The harm it can do surely outweighs its cleaning property, doesn’t it?

2. Cleaning blood spill vs. Sanitizing blood spill

Although the words cleaning and sanitizing are undoubtedly similar in a way, cleaning and sanitizing are of different intensities. Cleaning only concerns the surface, the exposed area. For example, the blood is already removed if you can no longer see blood stains. On the other hand, sanitizing is the more thorough version of cleaning. It gets rid of microorganisms and various biological materials, thus eradicating the notion of “if the stains are removed, then the blood is removed as well.”

3. Sanitizing without bleach is not recommended.

There’s a lot of better ways to sanitize that do not harm your health, the ecosystem, and your beloved quilt. Like relying on the things, you can find in your kitchen, like salt, cold water, and lemon. It is much cheaper and definitely much safer.

4. You don’t need to take extra precautions with cleaning a family member’s blood stain in contrast with cleaning a stranger’s blood spill.

Cleaning blood is definitely not to be taken lightly. Regardless of whose blood stain it is, we recommend you use protective gear such as goggles and gloves as 1 in 24 people carries harmful pathogens such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and more. All blood should be handled carefully as if it is harmful enough to make you sick, and you can never be sure.

5. Cleaning it on your own

You are not alone. It is typically the family’s responsibility to clean up the scene following serious accident that occurs at your home. This looks like an impossible and difficult chore for many families. Thankfully, no family has to go through this procedure by themselves as they are lent professional help.

Blood stains are a tough enemy. It takes time, patience, and perseverance to remove. Now that we have debunked myths and shown you how to get your fabrics free of these horrific bloodstains, we hope these tips and tricks helped you clean one of your most-priced quilts. Happy Quilt Cleaning!