Blood Stain Removal Tips: How to Get Blood out of Sheets

You’ve invested all that money in those cozy, comfy sheets, but accidents happen.

The last thing you want to do is trash a set of perfectly good sheets because of a few stains. Removing blood stains from your sheets can be done in quite a few ways, and if one method doesn’t work, another might be the trick.

How to get blood out of sheets

There are many ways to get blood out of sheets. In this 'How to remove blood from sheets' article, we’ll talk about five specific methods you can try.

The five methods to get rid of blood stains on your sheets are:

• Hydrogen peroxide
• White vinegar
• Wine out
• Baking soda and lemon
• Coca-cola

The great thing about these five methods that each of them only use safe, non-caustic chemicals. Even the Wine Out, a spray product, uses natural enzymes. There’s nothing inherently wrong with using other, more aggressive, chemical compounds, but if you can go with something that’s natural and safe first, why not?

Now, let’s get into more detail about each of these methods.

Hydrogen peroxide

This method works best for light colors or white sheets—hydrogen peroxide may bleach darker colors.

There’s a reason it’s a staple item in every single home. Hydrogen peroxide will bleach fabric and remove fluids from the fibers, which is why it’s your best bet. Before reaching for that square, brown bottle in your medicine cabinet (you know, the one you bought in 2002?) you’ll want to rinse the bloodstains with cold water to fade them as much as possible. Pour a few teaspoons of the hydrogen peroxide directly on the stains and let it do its thing for a few minutes.

After it fizzes for a bit, rub the fabric together to help work the stain out of the threads and then rinse with cold water again. You can repeat the steps if the stain is being particularly stubborn and then run it through your laundry as you normally would.

You should have a hard time telling where the stain was once the laundry is done!

White vinegar

If you’re looking for a natural blood stain remover, white vinegar poured directly on the stain can help dissolve it. You may need to soak it in the vinegar for about thirty minutes and then rinse with cold water and return it to soak in the vinegar a few times to fully clear the stain. Run it through your usual laundry process after to get rid of the vinegar smell—if it sticks around, try rinsing it with unflavored vodka to neutralize the scent.

If white vinegar alone just isn’t cutting it, try creating a thick paste of baking soda and water to apply to the stains before rinsing and soaking in the vinegar.

Wine out

Gonzo makes a natural wine stain remover that also works great on bloodstains. Just apply the remover and let it sit for five minutes before laundering. The natural enzymes eat away at the stain and things should look good as new!

Baking soda and lemon

Lemon juice can be a great lightening agent and you likely already have both of the things you need in your home. Mix two parts lemon juice, one part baking soda, and blot it onto the bloodstain. Let it sit for five minutes and then remove it with a sponge or by rinsing. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Coca-Cola

The carbonation and phosphoric acid in Coke can work wonders on bloodstains. Pour a can of Coke directly onto the stain and let it sit until the bloodstain is gone. This might take an hour or two depending on how set the stain is, but you should be able to tell once its fully lightened and wash it as usual.

Whatever You Do, Avoid Warm Water

There are so many different ways to try and get blood out of your sheets. One of your friends or family members probably has a method that they swear by. If you’re not sold on any of the methods we’ve shared with you, go ahead and ask them.

That being said, there’s one thing that you should not ever do. Don’t use warm or hot water to try and clean out blood. Your blood contains many different proteins. Warm and hot water essentially “cook” the proteins into whatever fabric the blood is on. If you’re going to use water to clean out blood, make sure that the water is cold. That will prevent the bloodstain from setting into the fabric.

Best Of Luck

We hope that our tips and suggestions for cleaning bloodstains out of bed sheets have been helpful. It’s always sad when you have to get rid of perfectly good fabric sheets because they’ve been stained by blood and you can’t get them out.

Tuft & Needle is here to help you with any and all of your mattress-related questions. Whether it’s getting blood out of sheets, pee or blood out of your mattress, improving your sleep posture, or qualities to look for in a new mattress.