How to Remove Blood Stains From Clothes
Blood is a textbook protein stain, and on this one point all six of our sources — ACI, Tide, Persil, UGA Extension, Consumer Reports, and Good Housekeeping — agree without exception: cold water, at every step, no matter how tempting warm water feels for getting a stain out.
Key takeaways
- Cold water only, at every step — ACI, Tide, Persil, UGA Extension, and Consumer Reports all agree.
- Flush from the back of the fabric so the stain moves out, not further in.
- 3% hydrogen peroxide can help on stubborn spots, but colorfastness-test first.
- Set-in blood may never fully release; treating it fast is the highest-leverage move you have.
Fresh blood: treat immediately
- Flush the stain with cold water from the back of the fabric, pushing the blood out rather than driving it through.
- Work an enzyme-based liquid detergent or bar soap directly into the stain.
- Soak in cold water — Persil specifically recommends cold, lightly salted water — for anywhere from a few minutes up to several hours if the stain lingers.
- Launder in cold water as usual, and check the stain is fully gone before drying.
Stubborn or partly set stains
- Colorfastness-test, then apply 3% hydrogen peroxide directly to the stain and let it sit for 1 to 3 minutes. Peroxide can lighten some dyes, so test first.
- Rinse and check; repeat if the stain hasn't fully released.
- Wash in cold water with an oxygen bleach added to the load.
Set-in and older blood stains
ACI recommends soaking in a product containing enzymes, or a solution of about two cups of water with dishwashing liquid; for especially stubborn stains, a tablespoon of ammonia added to that solution. As with any set-in stain, plan on a longer dwell time — 5 to 30 minutes — with gentle agitation, and be ready to repeat the treat-and-wash cycle before the item goes anywhere near heat. UGA Extension is candid that set-in blood is 'extremely difficult' to remove — treat it as a best effort, not a guarantee.
Skip the ammonia solution entirely on silk or wool (see Don't below).
Don't
- Don't use hot or even warm water at any stage — heat cooks the protein into the fiber and sets it permanently.
- Don't put the item in the dryer until you've confirmed in good light that the stain is fully gone.
- Don't use enzyme detergents or ammonia on silk or wool — both fibers are protein and will be damaged the same way the stain-causing protein is broken down.
- Don't rub the stain — blot and flush instead.