Here’s How to Get Blood Out of Carpet
Quickly and Safely Remove Blood Stains From Your Carpet
Removing Blood Stains from Carpet
You’ve had an accident and you cut yourself. Or maybe your dog cut its paw and you didn’t realize it before he/she tracked blood all over your carpets. One way or another, now you need to know how to get blood out of carpet. Regardless of how you got blood on your carpet, we’re here to provide some helpful tips on how to remove it.
If the blood stain is fresh, act quickly. It will be easier to remove if the blood stain is still wet/fresh. The cleaning steps are going to more or less be the same, you’ll just likely experience better success with cleaning a fresh stain instead of cleaning a dried blood stain from your carpet.
A Professional Tip on Blood
Blood coagulates with warm/hot water, allowing it to penetrate further into the carpet fibers. Because of this, use cold water for cleaning. Ideally, this will help keep the blood from further entering the carpet fibers.
Getting Blood Out of Carpet
Unless you caught it quickly, you’re probably looking at removing dried blood from the carpet. However, if it’s still wet/fresh, skip the first step, since you won’t be able to scrape wet blood off of the carpet. Here’s what we recommend for cleaning:
Method 1 – Use Dish Soap to Remove Blood from Carpet
- As with most stains, your first step with how to get blood out of carpet should be to try and remove any dried material (blood in this case) from the carpet fibers. The less dried blood you remove, the harder the job will be. A stiff brush can be used to try and groom the dried blood out of the carpet. Vacuum up the remainder.
- Fill up a spray bottle with cold water and a few squirts (a half ounce or so) of dish soap (don’t use hot water, as detailed in the pro tip above). Moisten the blood stain thoroughly. Don’t overdo it on the dish soap. You don’t want to leave a dirt-attracting soapy residue in your carpet.
- Blot the blood stain with a paper towel or clean rag. Don’t scrub it. Scrubbing only drives the blood deeper into the carpet fibers.
- Rinse with a bit of cool water. If you have a wet vacuum, use it to suck out as much fluid as possible. Cycle rinsing and suction a few times to get as much material removed as possible. If you don’t have a wet vac, you can use an old towel to try and absorb as much of the fluid as you can.
- Ok – the stain has been removed, its now recommended to set up a fan to blow air across the cleaned area to help it dry.
- If the blood stain has not yet been removed, repeat steps 2-4 as needed. Once you’ve made a few efforts and the blood is still a stain on the carpet, try the next method.
Method 2 – Using an Oxi Product to Get a Blood Stain Out
- As with the previous method mentioned, try and remove any dried material (blood in this case) from the carpet fibers. The less dried blood you remove, the harder the job will be. A stiff brush can be used to try and groom the dried blood out of the carpet. Vacuum up the remainder.
- Apply an oxi product to get blood stains out of carpet. Keep oxi products of all kinds away from natural fibers like wool or silk. Assuming you have a standard synthetic nylon or polyester rug, proceed with this step. We like Proxi Spray and Walk Away but something like Oxiclean should work too. Good old Hydrogen Peroxide in a 3% solution works as well, but be careful to spot test it in a closet or low visibility area, since it can bleach carpets. Apply the solution on to the stain. Allow it to dwell for a minute or two.
- Blot the blood and solution mix with a paper towel or clean white rag.
- Rinse with a bit of cool water. If you have a wet vacuum, use it to suck out as much fluid as possible. Cycle rinsing and suction a few times to get as much material removed as possible. However, if you don’t have a wet vac, you can use an old towel to try and absorb as much of the fluid as you can.
- If the stain has been removed, use a fan to blow air across the cleaned area to help it dry.
- However, If the blood stain has not yet been removed, repeat steps 2-4 as needed. Once you’ve made a few efforts and the blood is still a stain on the carpet, try the next method.
Method 3 – Using Ammonia and Water to Remove a Blood Stain
- As with the other methods, try and remove any dried material (blood in this case) from the carpet fibers. The less dried blood you remove, the harder the job will be. A stiff brush can be used to try and groom the dried blood out of the carpet. Vacuum up the remainder.
- Mix 1 tablespoon of ammonia with a half cup of cold water. Beware – DO NOT USE ANY BLEACH. Bleach and ammonia form a toxic gas. You should never put bleach (even diluted) on your carpet anyway, since it will, you know, bleach it… but it’s still a caution that must be shared.
- Apply the solution liberally to the blood stains. Allow it to dwell for 5 minutes or so.
- Blot (don’t rub) the blood stain with paper towels or a clean rag or towel.
- Rinse with a bit of cool water. If you have a wet vacuum, use it to suck out as much fluid as possible. Cycle rinsing and suction a few times to get as much material removed as possible. If you don’t have a wet vac, you can use an old towel to try and absorb as much of the fluid as you can.
- If the stain has been removed, set up a fan, if you have one, to blow air across the cleaned area to help it dry. However, if it hasn’t maybe now is a good time to call in the professionals (MSS Cleaning).
Still Having Issues Getting the Blood Out of the Carpet?
If you’ve tried out tips on how to get blood out of carpet and you haven’t had the success you want, it may be time to consider a professional cleaning. Blood can be tough to remove without professional equipment and solutions. If the steps we provide don’t do the trick, we have plenty of experience in professionally carpet cleaning blood stains and we’d be happy to do the job for you if you live in or around Denver, CO.
Or Call: 1-720-233-0761