Whether you’ve had an annoying paper cut, an accident with scissors during art or craft activities or you’ve cut yourself with a knife whilst chopping in the kitchen, to add to your woes, spots of blood might end up on your carpets.
It might seem like the end of the world, especially if you have a new carpet, but, fortunately, blood doesn’t need to be a permanent feature of your carpets. With prompt action, and the right cleaning tools and techniques, you can effectively remove all traces of blood from a carpet.
1. Blot the blood
Once you’ve seen to your injury (you don’t want any more blood finding its way onto your carpet!), get a clean, white cloth. Wet it with a very small amount of cold water, then dab at the blood mark. Never use hot water or a large amount of water as this could ruin carpet fibres and spread the stain.
Only ever blot with your cloth, as opposed to scrubbing or rubbing the area, as this will only set the blood deeper into the carpet, or spread it around.
Carry on blotting until no more blood is transferred to the cloth. You might have to use a new one if the old one is soaked. Once this is done, get a clean, dry, white cloth or paper towel and then blot the area again.
If the marked area is only small, and you act quickly, and/or a carpet has a stain protector applied, this might be all you need to do to get the blood out of the carpet. If not, there are further remedies available to help shift any stubborn blood splats.
2. Salt
If the blood is still present in a carpet after you’ve blotted it, try mixing a small amount of salt with water to form a paste. Apply the solution to the stained area and leave it for a few minutes. Continue with the blotting process using a clean cloth, until the stain has gone. Don’t leave any salt on the carpet as it could ruin it – vacuum it up as soon as possible.
3. Liquid detergent
A small squirt of liquid dishwasher detergent mixed into a cup of cold water can be applied to the blood stain with a soaked cloth. You don’t want to leave any soapy residues in the carpet, so once you’ve soaked it, spray the area with water or rinse it with a cloth soaked in water. Blot dry with a paper towel or cloth.
When using detergents, make sure the product doesn’t contain any lanolin or bleach as these might damage or discolour carpet fibres.
For stubborn blood stains, you could also try adding a tablespoon of ammonia to the detergent mixture. It might smell a little, so make sure to keep a window open!
4. Tackling dried blood
Sometimes it’s not always possible to clean the blood from a carpet whilst it’s wet. Naturally, the first priority is attending to your injury! If blood has dried into the carpet, it is more difficult to remove, but not impossible. It just requires a different approach.
First off, try to gently scrape off as much of the dried blood from a carpet, using the back of a spoon or a butter knife. Don’t use a fork or a brush as these might snag carpet fibres, especially carpets with a loop pile. By gently combing the dried deposits of blood you can break them up.
At this stage, it’s crucial to remove all of the dried deposits, using a vacuum cleaner. If you leave any behind, they’ll only end up becoming wet and potentially staining a carpet during the next part of the cleaning process.
Because dried blood is harder to remove than fresh blood, you’ll probably need to use a stain remover. You can make your own, using a mixture of one cup each of cold water and white vinegar, with two tablespoons of baking soda. Spray the mixture onto the affected area and leave it for up to 10 minutes. Then, blot the stain using a clean cloth, until no more moisture is transferred onto it. To remove any remaining solution from the carpet, blot with a damp cloth and then blot again with a dry cloth.
Some people swear by applying a small amount of unflavoured meat tenderiser with the same amount of water to the blood stain, and leaving it for up to 30 minutes. It’s thought that the meat tenderiser contains chemicals that can break down the proteins in the blood stain, making it easier to remove. Blot the solution with a cloth, then rinse off the carpet with a mix of water and liquid detergent. Blot again to dry.
Avoid using this method if you have a silk or wool carpet, as these contain animal proteins which could be broken down by the meat tenderiser, causing damage to delicate fabrics.
Another possible option to remove blood from a carpet is to use a very small amount of hydrogen peroxide dipped on a cotton bud, and applied to the affected area. If the blood stain is successfully removed, then use a damp cloth to clean the solution away. Because hydrogen peroxide has the potential to bleach carpet fibres, causing discoloration, always do a patch test first in a small area, and avoid using on carpets that aren’t light in colour.
5. Stain removers
There are a wide range of stain removers available to buy that claim to be able to remove blood from a carpet. These can have varying rates of success, so it’s worth reading the reviews about a product before buying it. Crucially, always read the instructions on the bottle and make sure any carpet cleaning solution is suitable for your particular type of carpet fabric.
6. Professional cleaning
Removing blood from a carpet should be a straightforward process, but there’s always risks involved if you tackle the job yourself. If blood has dried into the carpet, making it more difficult to remove, the risks are higher, and your carpet could suffer potential fabric damage if you’re not careful.
Another thing to bear in mind is that, if you don’t remove cleaning residues properly from a carpet, this could leave deposits behind that could encourage rapid resoiling of carpets. Not drying a carpet properly might also leave it damp, and, therefore, susceptible to mould and mildew forming.
To reduce the risks of these problems from occurring, and to make sure the blood stain is removed fully, it’s usually advisable to seek assistance from a professional Carpet Cleaning company.
At Carpet Bright UK, we have vast experience removing stains from carpets, including blood. We use dependable, powerful cleaning agents that are natural, non-toxic and safe for carpets, without leaving any residues behind. Our professional carpet cleaning business also makes sure all carpets are dried completely, preventing damp and mould from occurring. We can also apply effective stain protectors that can help reduce the chance of further stains, such as blood, affecting your carpets in the future.
We’ve received over 20,000 five star reviews from happy customers, so you can have complete confidence in our abilities to remove stains from your carpets. Call for a free quote.
