How to Remove a Blood Stain at Home

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First thing:  Is your stained garment silk, rayon, wool, or some other dryclean only fabric? Then I recommend taking it to a well trusted drycleaner!

If you have a polyester or cotton and the label says launder or wash, then you are wise to follow my advice!

1) Best chance to remove a blood stain is to treat it as quickly as possible before it has a chance to set.  

2) ALWAYS TRY COLD WATER FIRST , since harsher chemicals may damage more delicate fabrics and/or pull color.

3) Let the item soak a little - then scrub - with a fingernail scrub brush, your fingernail.

Here is the most important tip: If the blood doesn't come out all the way, DO NOT GIVE UP!  Keep scrubbing.  If you need to take a break, that's fine.   - Leave the item soaking.  Scrubbing for 10-15 minutes or longer of is not uncalled for for a large stain, or if the stain has been sitting a little while.  Do be careful not to scrub a whole in the garment.

4) If you must - you can add a little soap.  The soap acts as a lubricant making it easier to remove the soils.  Using too much soap DOES NOT increase the chances of a stain coming out!

5) If soap doesn't do the job completely, try pouring ammonia straight over the stain and scrub again.

6) EXTREME MEASURES: Hydrogen Peroxide is another method - soak the entire stain in straight Hydrogen Peroxide 10-15 minutes and rinse with water.  Watch for color loss with this one. If the stains are all over - I would dilute the Hydrogen Peroxide in water - and soak the entire garment.  Watch it carefully - as soon as the stains start to move rinse and then wash the item completely!

Have a problem with odor in you clothes? Read this!

I ran across this article and thought it some of you may benefit from this information.
I posted my 2 cent response, and was impressed by all the ideas.

It's mostly accurate, but please don't use infused vodka for removing odor, and use caution on any dry-clean only garments.

http://corporette.com/2010/06/08/when-drycleaning-just-doesnt-help/

Home Stain Removal Techniques

People often call asking how to remove a stain. Drycleaners do not like answering that question. We want to be helpful. However, there are so many variables. What follows is a quick list of the most common home remedies - THESE ARE FOR MACHINE WASHABLE, COLORFAST GARMENTS ONLY!

*Trade names are used for illustrative purposes only. Other similar product may perform as well.

WISK*: for pre-treating ring around the collar and not-so-difficult stains. Be sure and let the garment sit for about 20 minutes before washing, and follow all manufacturer's instructions.

BIZ*: I love this product. It is for pre-soaking difficult stains. Be careful as it is easy to pull colors and bleed a garment. A couple of hours soak is generally enough. Warm water can make this a much more aggressive technique.

Ammonia: Use at 50% strength diluted with water to flush out fresh blood stains on a shirt. Be patient and blot thoroughly then wash. BLOOD: If you are going to get blood out, be sure you are prepared to work at it. Use COLD water and DO NOT GIVE UP. Once you have worked on the stain - if it is still there, and you wash and dry the garment - it will be a permanent stain

Bleach: I do not recommend bleach. If you must, be sure to rinse MUCH MORE THAN YOU THINK IS NECESSARY. Bleach will eat the stains and the fabric - resulting in holes and other damage.

Pet Stains: Blot with a vinegar/water mixture - one quart warm water to 1/2 cup white vinegar.

Fabreze*: Another product I love. It is excellent for removing odor. A light spray and some sunshine can do wonders to restore a musty, smoky or smelly item.

"Old Wives' Tales" (that do not work); CLUB SODA - considered by many as a "cure all" for practically every mishap, it usually just spreads out the stain and can make removal of oily stains like butter and gravy almost impossible. Then there is WHITE WINE to remove red wine (please don't try it!). HAIR SPRAY to remove ink and WATER to remove almost anything. But when a spill happens in a social situation and a napkin dipped in water or club soda is used and rubbed, it breaks fibers and causes color loss ("crocking").

These remedies often appear to be helping, when in fact the majority of the time, a very expensive piece of you clothing investment is being ruined.

Quick Tips to Make Laundry Easy

This is a short list of do's and don'ts that will make it easy for you to improve the results you get using your home washing machine.

DO wash new colored garments separately, colors can and do often bleed (especially the first few washes)!

DON'T over dry. Use a dryer with an automatic sensing feature, or be sure to set the timer so as not to over dry. Over drying set wrinkles, causes shrinkage, and unnecessary fabric damage.

DON'T leave damp clothes in the washer for an extended period of time. Mold, mildew and just a bad odor will often result.

DO remove clothes from the dryer promptly and shake them out. This minimizes wrinkles and the need to iron. Even an ironless shirt will be wrinkled if over dried and left in the dryer for an extended period!

DO use plastic hangers when line drying.

DON'T use chlorine bleach. Even 100% cotton men's shirts are generally not receptive to chlorine bleach. It will shorten the life of the shirt, possibly cause holes and can destroy the interfacing in the placket and collars - this is because the interfacing if often polyester (even in a 100% cotton shirt).