How to Remove Blood Stains from a Mattress

If you’ve spent enough time in the garden or on the soccer field, you know that a few thorn pricks and scraped knees can leave blood stains on your clothes and ruin linens quickly. Usually, this requires a few extra cleaning products and a run through the washing machine. However, this solution is not so simple when you need to know how to remove blood stains from a mattress.

You can’t just toss the stained mattress in the washer. So what do you do? Removing blood stains from a mattresses is needed more often than you think, especially for those ladies who receive unannounced visits from their Aunt Flo.

Lucky for you, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite solutions to help you demolish those unsightly stains. Many of the ingredients are even in your pantry or medicine cabinets. No matter if it’s a tiny spot you want gone or a colossal mess, we’ve got you covered.

Super Solutions for Removing Blood Stains from a Mattress

Can you wash a mattress? Take care of stains and spot clean areas of the mattress to make it safe to sleep on again. If you have blood stains on your mattress, you have blood stains on the bedding, too.

It is easier to learn how to remove blood from sheets than it is for a mattress since you can add them to the washing machine after pre-treating the stains. Check out our easy tips for stain removal with common household ingredients.

Soak Up All Excess Blood and Dry Thoroughly

To get blood out of the mattress or even from clothing, your first step in the process should be to soak up as much excess blood as possible. Never rub or scrub the stain, as this may cause the blood to sink deeper into the mattress.

Instead, blotting the area with paper towels or a dry cloth will absorb the bodily fluids and draw them toward the surface of the bed and leave a stain that is easier to clean since it is not soaked.

When you are sure you have sopped up most of the stain, wet the cloth with cold water and wring it out completely. Because blood is protein-based, never use hot water or warm water to remove blood stains, as this will cause it to set deeper into the mattress.

With a damp cloth, repeat the same process by blotting the area until the blood stops transferring from the bed to the towel.

Your next step is crucial if you have a memory foam mattress. Leaving excess liquid on your mattress, even if it is only cold water, may cause mildew to form deep within the interior. Since memory foam is ultra-absorbent, dry the mattress completely before starting your stain treatment. Soak up excess liquid using a dry cloth.

Afterward, use the upholstery attachment on your vacuum cleaner to remove dirt in the crevices and suck up leftover water. Once you finish vacuuming, you can begin stain removal.

Use Dish Soap to Clean Mattress Stains

Cleaning blood stains from bed covers and mattresses doesn’t always require a heavy-duty cleaning solution. For mild stains, sometimes laundry detergent or liquid dish soap also removes stains with very little trouble.

Remember, when cleaning memory foam mattresses, don’t add too much of the solution to the bed, though you will still want to saturate the stain with the dish soap. Do not, however, add any more water than is needed.

Start by combining the two ingredients until they form a bubbly, foamy mixture. Soak a clean cloth in the solution and apply it to the mattress stain. Saturate the area to get as much of the cleaner as you can into the blood stain.

Let it sit for about 30 minutes before blotting with a dry cloth. Add a little pressure to remove more of the stain, then let the mattress dry either with a small fan or by air drying outside.

How to Get Blood Out of a Mattress Using Pet Cleaner

Pet cleaning products are house cleaning solutions that do much more than removing urine stains from carpet and upholstery. The reason why they are so effective at removing pet stains is that they use an enzyme cleaner that breaks down organic materials like sweat, urine, and blood.

So, if you’re looking for the best way to clean a mattress, an enzymatic cleaner is it. The process for cleaning with an enzyme cleaner is similar to that of most cleaning solutions. Whether you need a way to remove a blood stain from fabric or the bed, spray the mattress stain or clothes stain with the detergent and let it sit between 15 and 30 minutes.

For particularly stubborn stains, use a toothbrush to gently scrub the surface of the mattress. Blot the area dry and then let the mattress air dry overnight, preferably with a fan blowing on it to speed up the process.

Hydrogen Peroxide to Fade Blood Stains From Bed Bugs

If you’ve ever had bed bugs, you know they leave unsightly brown fecal spots and blood stains that are almost impossible to remove. While using alcohol to kill bed bugs will eliminate the insects, it is not always an effective solution for removing the stains.

Instead, one of the best cleaning products to use is hydrogen peroxide, which works double-time as a stain remover and a disinfectant, whether you need to clean dried blood off white shoes, need a way to get period blood out of clothes, or get it off your mattress.

The only drawback to hydrogen peroxide is it may cause discoloration. While an old mattress may already suffer from wear and tear, you don’t want to bleach your new mattress or ruin the texture.

Still, if you’ve made up your mind and are ready to use this method, add a small amount to a clean cloth and blot the area for about ten minutes at a time. Always dry after removing stains.

How to Remove Blood Stains from a Mattress

Hydrogen peroxide may be the go-to product to remove blood stains, but essential oils can boost those stain-removing properties. Lemon oil is a natural degreaser which also makes it highly effective at loosening and removing body oils from linen.

Mix the ingredients and clean the same way you did with the hydrogen peroxide. The only difference is you can add these ingredients to a spray bottle and gently mist over the parts of the bed that need cleaning.

On memory foam mattresses, it’s better to spray the cloth instead to avoid adding too much moisture. Using this method works best when you need to remove a period stain on mattress tops or even to eliminate musty smells.

Sprinkle Baking Soda and Cold Water Over the Stain

Baking soda is another brilliant option for how to clean blood stains and other types of stains as well as to eliminate unpleasant odors from urine, sweat, and vomit.

Typically used for regular mattress cleaning and as the best way to deep clean a mattress, baking soda absorbs the moisture and lifts part of the stain out of bed. It’s also an excellent deodorizer, which is another reason homeowners use it so frequently when cleaning mattresses.

To use this blood stain cleaner, mix the two ingredients until they form a paste. If it doesn’t create a paste, you may need to add a little bit more baking soda to the mix. Add the solution over the surface of the stain and scrub in with a soft toothbrush as necessary.

Let it sit on the mattress for 30 minutes before removing and rinsing with cold water. Remember to remove any moisture left behind and let the mattress air dry.

Removing Blood Stains from a Mattresses Using Vinegar

Along with baking soda, white vinegar also appears in most mattress cleaning routines. It is effective at neutralizing mildew and dissolving urine smell, as well. While the smell of vinegar is not always the most pleasant, it does dissipate after a short while.

You can mix your favorite essential oil with the vinegar when using it to mask the smell. Add vinegar to a clean cloth and blot the area, applying adequate amounts of pressure to get deep into the stain.

Soak the area with the vinegar, but avoid adding it directly to the stain, so you don’t add excess moisture to the mattress. Dry the stain with a soft cloth, and air dry overnight.

You can also use white vinegar to get puke out of a mattress. Throw up can have a pungent smell when left of your mattress, so be sure to clean it up with a strong cleaning solution.

Are there any ways to prevent blood stains in the first place?

Now that you’ve spent time researching how to get blood out of a mattress, and spent even more time cleaning the mattress, you want to make sure this never happens again. So what can you do? Accidents will happen, but there are some solutions available to protect your mattress.

One option is to use a mattress protector. These covers are usually made out of vinyl or include some sort of plastic material to protect against allergens like dust mites. They are phenomenal at preventing bed bugs, too. Just like your next option, they are also 100% removable.

Another splendid solution is to use a mattress pad, especially if you don’t already have a pillow top mattress. While these plush mattress covers offer a whole new level of comfort to your bed, they are also removable, which means you can clean them in the washing machine. Doing this saves you the headache of having to wash your entire mattress, or spending hours at a time applying pressure to the blood stain and letting it air dry.

Now that you have all the cleaning tips you’ll ever need to remove blood stains from your mattress; you are ready to take on this challenging task. No matter what cleaning product you decide to use, most attack the problem in a similar way. The most important points to remember are to use cold water, no scrubbing, and soak up all excess moisture when finished.

If you found these stain cleaning solutions for your mattress useful, remember to share how to remove blood stains from a mattress with your friends and family on Facebook and Pinterest.