How to Remove Blood Stains from Carpet and Upholstery?

A sudden nosebleed or paper cut can often result in blood stains on your carpet. It’s an unpleasant situation because you have to take care of this accident and figure out how to remove the blood from your flooring. And although the stain can seem difficult to clean, if you know the proper method for stain removal, you can salvage your rug. It’s essential to act fast, although you can also clean dried blood from a carpet with some patience and a little extra elbow grease. Take in mind that removing blood stains from a carpet and upholstery is slightly different than getting it out of clothes, sheets, or any other textile items. Cleaner Cleaner’s experts have a few tips to help you tackle the task with ease.

How to Clean a Fresh Blood Stain From the Carpet

No matter what stain remover you’re using, you need to follow the same steps for getting blood stains out of your carpet. The method can be used for cleaning furniture, too. 

1. Dip a clean cloth in cold water. It’s key to avoid using warm or hot water for this job, as it will cook the protein and set the stain on the carpet.
2. Blot the spot lightly. Never rub or scrub the affected area – this will only spread the blood and push it deeper into the carpet pile. Vigorous scrubbing can also crush the fibres and ruin the carpet’s texture.
3. Repeat blotting gently, using clean parts of your cloth, until you can see that no more blood is getting transferred from the carpet to the towel. Then, blot the area with a dry white cloth. If the stain is very fresh or your carpet is treated with stain protection, this may be enough to remove the stain.
4. If there is some blood left, get a stain remover to finish the cleaning process – we have listed a few cleaners you can use below.
5. Apply the chosen stain remover and use a clean towel to blot the stain until there’s no blood residue on the carpet.
6. Blot the affected area with a clean towel dipped in cold water to rinse any remaining cleaning product.
7. And last, gently blot the carpet with a dry cloth to soak any moisture left.

Read also: Carpet Stain Removal – Even the most terrible stains can be removed

The Best Stain Removers for Blood

The most efficient solutions to remove a blood stain are the simplest. However, there are a few rules to using them. When it comes to carpet stain removal, less is more. So, use as little product as possible. Using too much cleaner can cause the stain to re-appear, leave a residue that will attract more dirt over time, or weigh down the carpet pile making the flooring look flat and worn out. With that being said, let’s see which are the most efficient cleaners to remove blood stains from carpets.

Hydrogen peroxide

There are many uses of hydrogen peroxide in home cleaning. This liquid has mild bleaching and disinfectant properties. The 3% solution is usually safe to use on carpets most of the time. Nevertheless, it’s wise to make a spot test. Apply on a small inconspicuous area of your flooring and wait a few minutes. If there’s no discolouration, it’s safe to use it to remove the blood stain on your carpet or upholstery, following the steps described above.

Ammonia and Dishwashing Detergent

Stir a tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergent in two cups of cold water and add a tablespoon of ammonia to the mixture. Then go through the same steps as above. Make sure to rinse any residues from the solution to avoid weighing down the pile and reappearance of the stain. Ammonia has a strong odour, so always open a window to ventilate the room when you’re using it. Also, the combination of bleach and ammonia results in toxic vapours, so never mix these products. 

Store-bought Stain Remover Product

If you don’t have ammonia or hydrogen peroxide at hand, you can opt for a store-bought spot cleaner. The key is to use a stain remover with an enzyme formula. The enzymes break down the proteins in stains like blood and pet stains and make them easier to clean. So if you have a pet or an adventurous toddler and accidents are no rare occasion in your household, it’s good to keep such a product at hand. Whenever you’re using an enzyme cleaner, don’t forget to check the label and make sure it’s safe for carpets. Follow the packaging instructions to remove the blood stain after doing a spot test first, just to be on the safe side.

How to Remove Dried Blood Stains from Carpets

Sometimes dealing with injuries is the more pressing issue, and by the time you make sure everything is okay, the blood has dried. Cleaning a dry blood stain is almost the same process as dealing with a fresh one, with one big exception: You need to scrape off as much of the dried blood as you can before continuing with the steps above. Here’s how to do it:

1. Use the back of a spoon or a dull knife and gently run it over the affected area. That will break the hard residues. Avoid using brushes, forks, or anything that can snag or fray your carpet fibres, especially if you have a looped rug.
2. Vacuum up the dried substance; otherwise, it will turn into liquid when you dampen it and continue spreading and staining your carpet.
3. Blot the area with a clean towel dipped in cold water. Continue until you’ve transferred as much of the stain into the cloth as possible. 
4. Next, use a stain remover. When dealing with dried up stains, it’s better to use a store-bought enzyme cleaner because the proteins in the blood have already set into the pile.
5. When the stain is dry, you have to leave the product on for a few minutes to do its job.
6. Then use a clean cloth to blot the area. Turn it often using the clean parts so you don’t spread the blood all over the carpet. Stop when there’s no more blood transferred on the cloth.
7. Blot with cold, clean water to remove any residues of the solution.
8. And finally, dry the area gently with another clean cloth.

Removing blood stains from your carpet can be tricky and time-consuming, not to mention that if you use the wrong product or fail to rinse it thus can ruin the flooring. So, why risk it when you can call professionals to help you with the unpleasant task? Call us today, book our expert stain removal service, and we will help you make your carpet spotless!