It will take time and effort to remove blood stains from a mattress and leave no trace because you can clean the surface only on one side.
Other things to consider are the large size of a mattress and the fact that it is often covered with a rather delicate fabric.
Despite these difficulties, it’s not too hard to get your mattress clean again.
However, only a thorough and consistent approach with due account to the specifics of organic formation removal will bring the perfect result without leaving typical yellow stain marks.
The main condition you should follow to achieve the desired outcome is speed. Dealing with a fresh stain is no big deal, while old stains are a lot harder to remove.
Contents
Surface Preparation
According to RestFAQ blog, before using special products in the hope of getting rid of blood stains, prepare the damaged fabric area. Here are a number of steps to do that:
- Take a clean piece of fabric, wet it in very cold water, add ice if you have any. Under any condition DO NOT use warm water, or worse, hot water. It will cause protein folding, which will result in red stains becoming yellow stain marks.
- Apply the fabric to the stain, wet it thoroughly, but do not rub.
- Apply a dry napkin to the wet area, and soak it through.
- Repeat these steps over and over until the bloodstains are removed or until no dirt is left on the paper napkins.
If the mattress does not become fully clean after these steps, you will need to use more aggressive means.
The main thing to remember is that all methods are carried out only using cold water.
Effective Methods To Remove Blood Stains From A Mattress
Try to remove blood stains starting with the gentlest techniques, moving to more active substances if necessary.
Salt Solution
Works well only for fresh stains. Dilute a teaspoon of table salt in a glass of cold water. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and evenly spray it over the stain.
It won’t cause any damage to the fabric, so don’t be afraid to use it. Next work on the surface, rubbing the stain with a piece of fabric or a soft brush.
Move from the edges to the centre, thus preventing the spread of a stain to a larger area.
After removing the stain, blot the surface of the mattress with a dry napkin until it dries.
Detergent
Dilute a tablespoon of neutral detergent in two glasses of water, slightly foam the composition. Apply it to the stain with a cloth napkin.
Take a toothbrush, dip it in the composition and rub it over the surface to clean the bloodstain. Remove what’s left of the solution and let the mattress dry naturally.
Ammonia Solution
Ammonia perfectly copes with fresh organic stains, including bloodstains. This method is no good for a mattress with wool fibre upholstery!
Dilute a tablespoon of ammonia in half a glass of cold water. Apply or spray the solution on the stain, leave it for 5 minutes and try to remove from the fabric by soaking it through with a clean dry cloth.
Repeat until no traces of blood are left.
Tip: To remove the specific odour of the cleaning agents, first dry and ventilate the mattress, then spray with water with a couple of drops of essential oil.
Hydrogen Peroxide
The product is famous for its special interaction with blood cells, but it should be used only if other products do not help.
The component works well for discolouration and weakening of tissue fibres. Apply a 3% solution directly on the stain, wait 30 seconds and wet it with a dry napkin.
Repeat several times if necessary.
Sodium Bicarbonate
Persistent stains and yellow stain marks from blood can be removed with a concentrated sodium bicarbonate solution.
For one part of the powder take two parts of cold water. Apply the resulting thick paste to the dirty area on the mattress and leave for half an hour.
After that, clean the solution residue with a toothbrush or a dense sponge, wet the area with a wet cloth and let dry naturally.
Read More: These handheld vacuums are perfect for mattress cleaning
Meat Tenderizing Enzymes
A product that is traditionally used to neutralize dried and aged bloodstains.
Make a paste from a tablespoon of powder and two tablespoons of cold water, rub it with fingers into the mattress surface.
Remove the paste carefully with a toothbrush in one hour, wipe off the dirty traces with a wet cloth.
The fabric should be thoroughly washed, even if you have to use a large amount of water and dry napkins.
Hydrogen Peroxide Saline Solution
The composition of increased efficiency, which can easily bring out a fresh or old stain. Mix two tablespoons of corn or potato starch and a tablespoon of salt.
Dilute a dry part in a quarter of a glass of 3% hydrogen peroxide and make a homogeneous paste. Apply it to the stain, gently rubbing with the convex part of a spoon.
Wait until the product is completely dry, then gently remove the paste with a spoon or a blunt knife.
The fabric is recommended to be rinsed by the usual way of alternately soaking through with wet and dry napkins.
If a stain is already so old that it has become brown, moisture it before treatment with a weak solution of vinegar (9% solution for 2 parts of cold water).
After the stain gets its natural colour back, you can start processing the problem area with one of the proposed methods.
Proper use of the above methods will ensure you do not risk the quality of the mattress.
Only if the stain has not been completely removed, we advise turning to professionals.
