Bloodstains

[UncleEbenezer]

Not a murder mystery. Just a troublesome blemish - possibly a cyst - in my back, that sometimes bleeds without my realising it's happening. I have minor bloodstains on many of my things, headed by most of my pyjamas.

I now have a bloodstain that really bothers me. On my lovely new sofa - just one month old. And it's on the armrest, so not even a cushion I can turn over to hide the stain.

Any tips for getting rid of it?

[Julian]

As a psoriasis sufferer this really is the bane of my life and I'm afraid that I haven't found anything that gets rid of bloodstains completely. The best I've found is Vanish stain remover, the stuff in the pink spray bottle (https://www.vanish.co.uk/products/pre-t ... eat-spray/). I've used it successfully to completely remove red wine stains from beige carpets and to at least reduce the intensity of bloodstains on all sorts of things. I have in fact removed bloodstains completely with it but only when I've noticed them right away and treated them before they've had a chance to dry which by the sound of it is no longer an option for you.

To use it I spray it on the area, leave it for 2 mins, and then rub it into the area, leave again for about a minute and finally rinse off the area with reasonable amounts of water, i.e. big drops squeezed out of a cloth or sponge as a midpoint between just rubbing it with a damp cloth (too little water) and pouring a glass of water over it (too much water), and then the water wiped off with a cloth and the rinse and repeat cycle repeated 3 or 4 times. Obviously try it on an inconspicuous area of the fabric first if you want to try this.

I'll be really interested to see if anyone has any total solution to the dried-in bloodstain problem. I'm getting fed up of throwing away almost brand new shirts. There's one I trashed on its first wear that I haven't had the heart to throw out yet so I have a test case of my own that I can try out any suggestions on.

- Julian

[BobbyD]

suitably coloured antimacassar?

[rhialto]

Not a murder mystery. Just a troublesome blemish - possibly a cyst - in my back, that sometimes bleeds without my realising it's happening. I have minor bloodstains on many of my things, headed by most of my pyjamas.

I now have a bloodstain that really bothers me. On my lovely new sofa - just one month old. And it's on the armrest, so not even a cushion I can turn over to hide the stain.

Any tips for getting rid of it?

Pop along and show it (the 'cyst' to your GP) - and s/he can arrange to have it removed.

A bleeding site with no obvious cause should be looked at - the thing of most concern would be melanoma.

I'd also suggest it's pointless getting rid of the stain if you're just going to bleed all over the sofa the following week.

[AleisterCrowley]

^^ seconded
Get yourself along to the GP pronto.
It's probably nothing to worry about and they will be able to sort it out easily, but bleeding from blemishes/moles needs to be looked at.

[Maroochydore]

Any tips for getting rid of it?

Years ago I had a sample bottle of an enzymatic solution which we were going to launch into the pet trade. It was American and they used to sell it into the butchery trade for cleaning because the enzymes devoured the dried blood.

Obviously I haven't got it now but I Googled for enzymatic cleaners and didn't find any on sale in UK (only USA) but found this DIY recipe. It's a bit long-winded and takes about two weeks to ferment before you can use it. https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Enzyme-Cleaner

My only reservation which may not apply here was that the American sample was ready made. I discussed buying it as a concentrate and using our water, rather than ship 210 gallon drums of water over and was told that the enzymes react differently and have to be balanced with the water supply to be effective.

This DIY version probably isn't as sophisticated as the stuff I was planning to buy so may or may not work as well. However, if desperate, may be worth a try.

[DiamondEcho]

I'd google for it. There are several good websites that give very clear and simple to follow suggestions for how to get a range of stains out, including this, depending on their state/age, the medium etc.

When I've previously had say a spot of blood on a shirt, a good way to remove it that I have found and follow is as follows:
Act fast
Seek to draw out the stain from the side it entered
Assuming it's a blood-spot, put the spot centred over a large coin.
Drip just enough water on the stained area to dampen it.
Pour some salt on the stain, enough to create a layer maybe 3mm high across the stained area.
Put another similarly sized coin on top, and gently bed it down so that saly layer is even.
Put the heaviest object you can exerting weight bearing down on the top coin. For example this could be say a 1Kg weight is you have something like that, but I have also put such a 'sandwich^' under the chair of a leg of a heavy chair or soda that rests on a solid floor. I've even loaded said chair/sofa with additional heavy goods to create extra mass.
Leave perhaps overnight, flake off the salt and then wash immediately on cool.

This has worked very well for me on clothes so far. On sofas etc... hmm, tricky if the covers are not removable. As suggested I'd google for that.