ANSWERS : Living

I have a hand-made, cotton quilt, with small splatters, over a large area. There are top colors scattered over a country white background & backing to add to the challenge. Thank you!

Comments

[canucksgirl]

Tide To Go Instant Stain Remover pen. I bought one a while ago, and they work GREAT on pretty much everything including blood. It doesn't bleach, so its safe on colors, but it gets rid of stains.

[dragonfly55]

does it hurt fabric--this would be my only concern as tide is normally hard on more delicate materials. my quilt has some material piecing that has some life to it--saved from special pieces of clothing--from the past.

[canucksgirl]

I've used it on many fabrics and my mom has used it on one of her heirloom quilts without problems, so I would say yes, it is perfectly safe to use. It's not a 'pre-treater' so you can just use it to remove the stain and let it dry and that's it. I keep one in my purse for those dreaded coffee drips. It's very handy to have. (Even though I don't use Tide detergent for washing). :-)

[dragonfly55]

thank you everyone! i am still working on the quilt piece by piece -- your help is much appreciated!!

[mpilchfamily]

Hydrogen peroxide. Dab it into the cloth and let it sit for a minute. Then dab it with a dry cloth and repeat. It will take some time but eventually the peroxide will eat through all the blood.

[dragonfly55]

thank you

[CatTrampoline]

The first step would be to soak in COLD water first, to remove as much blood as possible. Then treat with an enzymatic stain remover such as Shout. Let the stain remover sit on the blood spots for about 15 minutes, then wash according to label directions.

Before drying, check the spots. If some of the blood is still there, re-treat and allow the enzymes to work their magic for several hours before washing again. If the stains are set by the dryer they will be even harder to remove.

I realize this is a DIY site, but sometimes a commercial product is the best choice. Hydrogen peroxide is great at eating blood but it will also make "bleach" marks on dark colored fabric.

[dragonfly55]

thank you

[Vyger]

Your not supposed to wrap bodies in things you want to keep.

[dragonfly55]

i know but some things can't be helped

[bwrussell]

Or at least wait until everything is coagulated.

I've always heard cold water but typically that works best on a fresh stain. How long ago was the body dumped?

[dragonfly55]

to long to get the stains out easily

[steveastrouk]

Best answer.

[lizzyastro]

The advice I have heard on this from quilters is that the provider of the blood should spit on it! Apparently the enzymes in the saliva work on the proteins in the blood. If you cannot get the bleeder to do this then a long soak in Biz is recommended followed by laundering as usual.

[iceng]

This is an amazing concept !!

[lizzyastro]

I don't know how effective it really is or if it is just a myth - as I machine quilt I don't usually prick my fingers sufficiently to bleed on my creations and have had no need to try it out :-)

Lizzy

[iceng]

Next time I measure my blood sugar I will add blood to four cloth patches
to test after an hour and after 2 days by me and my wife.   Let you know.

A

[steveastrouk]

The true spirit of scientific experimentation is alive and kicking in Nevada.

[iceng]

So I have put blood drop stains on six white fabric squares.
The first two were salivated upon by my wife and I after 2 hours and
rubbed fard and rinsed with little remaining red but no difference between
the saliva.

Three days later two other squares were salivated upon and rubber hard
followed by a water rinse.
More blood remained and no appreciable difference between my wife and I.

The conclusion is it did not appear to make a difference whose saliva enzymes
were used on my stain...

A

[iceng]

:-)

[mole1]

Before doing anything else (like washing/drying it) soak it ammonia and cold water overnight. This works best when the bloodstain is recent. For something as big as a quilt, I would probably put six inches of water in the bathtub, open the window, add maybe a pint of ammonia, and then add the quilt. In the morning, pull the plug, and turn on a cold shower. When the ammonia was pretty much gone, I would put plastic bags on my stocking feet and carefully walk on the quilt to squeeze out most of the water. If you do this by hand, wear glove to squeeze (do not wring) the water out.

[iceng]

H₂O₂ Peroxide..