You can get blood out of a carpet with a kitchen towel, warm water, and baking soda. First, blot any wet blood with a kitchen towel. The towel will absorb any wet blood quickly. Then, spray lukewarm water onto dry blood to make it wet, so you can blot it again. Finally, apply baking soda to lift stubborn bloodstains and scrub gently.
Cleaning blood stains from a carpet can be pretty stressful, but don’t worry. This guide will walk you through the steps to get the job done and restore that carpet to normal.
Why Does Blood Stain So Much?
Before we dive deeper into this topic, there’s one thing you must first understand about blood. Blood is very different from any other fluid that you might stain your carpet with, like red wine.
That’s because blood is made up of more than just water. The fluid also contains red and white blood cells and proteins that bind together when exposed to heat.
Unfortunately, blood will be a more stubborn stain on your precious carpet. So, you must act fast because blood stains are very challenging to remove once they’ve set in.
Still, that property of blood proteins binding with heat gives you the first hack for dealing with bloodstains on a carpet: never use hot water.
Hot water will make the blood stain even more stubborn to remove, so always start the cleaning process with warm or cold water instead.
What Is The Easiest Way To Get Blood Out Of Carpet?
There are several ways to clean blood out of a carpet, and some are more complicated than others. Here’s the simplest way to do it, using standard household products that you and most other people already have.
Whether you’re cleaning wet or dry blood (or both), here are the 3 steps you must follow:
Step 1: Wet Blood – Blot, Don’t Scrub
Bloodstains are a lot easier to clean up while they’re still wet. Kitchen paper towels are best for this job, especially since most households will undoubtedly have them available nearby.
Do not scrub the wet blood when you’re trying to clean it up. Doing so will spread the stain further and encourage it to bind with the carpet’s fabric.
Instead, fold your kitchen towels and blot the wet bloodstains. That means you’ll press the kitchen towel against the bloodstain and apply only a little bit of pressure.
The towel will absorb the blood and remove it from your carpet as you do that.
Each kitchen towel you use can only absorb so much blood. So, you might have to use several towels and repeat the process, depending on how much blood there is.
Step 2: Dry Blood – Spray, Then Blot
Whether you’re reacting to a bloodstain that occurred seconds ago or one that was left unattended for hours, you’ll undoubtedly have to deal with some blood that has dried up.
Here’s the key to cleaning up dry blood: you have to make it wet again.
Grab a spray bottle and fill it with warm or cold water. Remember to never use hot water because that will make the blood proteins bind even more. That’s the complete opposite of what we want when removing those stains.
You can add 1 small squirt of unscented dish detergent and vinegar to remove any blood smells if you feel it’s necessary.
Be sure to only use a small amount of vinegar to prevent unwanted discoloration or damage to your carpet fibers.
When ready, spray the dry blood stain until it becomes wet. That will allow you to repeat what you did in Step 1 by using a kitchen towel to gently absorb and remove the now-wet blood.
Step 3: Sprinkle Baking Soda
At this stage, all that’s left on your carpet will be the stubborn bloodstains that require a bit more effort to remove.
You’ll want to add another standard household product, baking soda, to the process.
Sprinkle the baking soda generously on the remaining bloodstains. Then, add a bit of water to the baking soda.
This time, you’ll want to use the kitchen towel to gently scrub the stubborn bloodstains.
Unfortunately, those stubborn stains require more force to remove, making scrubbing a necessity.
What Are Alternative Ways To Get Blood Out Of A Carpet?
The step-by-step guide for getting blood out of a carpet you saw above relies only on essential household cleaning products that most people have.
However, you also have 2 alternative products you can use to make this cleanup easier:
Hydrogen peroxide: Some households have hydrogen peroxide as an antiseptic to clean up cuts and bruises. You can apply some to a carpet bloodstain but only use a little at a time. However, hydrogen peroxide is quite strong and could discolor your carpet.
Specialized carpet cleaning products: Many cleaning brands also have stain removal products for carpets. These could be effective, though they’ll cost you more to purchase.
Final Thoughts
Bloodstains can be stubborn, but don’t worry too much. Instead, absorb as much wet blood as you can with a kitchen towel, and be patient with cleaning up the rest. With enough time and attention, your carpet will look brand new.
