WD-40 Is All You Need To Eliminate Blood Stains Before They Even Get A Chance To Set In

Blood stains happen to the best of us. You may get carried away in the garage, gleefully imagining new home renovation projects, and accidentally let your hand graze the saw blade or reach hand-first into a bucket of nails. Anytime there's an accident in your home, make sure everyone is safe and provide first aid when needed, then quickly move on to your laundry. Blood stains can be notoriously tricky to remove from clothing, sheets, and carpets, especially after they dry and set in, but difficult problems require creative solutions. Head back out to the garage and grab a can of WD-40! This versatile product is designed to lubricate surfaces and prevent rust, but pre-treating your fabric with WD-40 can lift blood stains with impressive results!

Whether your child scraped their knee at the park, you've had a minor accident in the kitchen, or Aunt Flow has made a surprise visit, knowing how to act quickly with blood stains can save you a lot of frustration. Here's how you can use WD-40 to lift blood stains and make other laundry boo-boos better again. 

Once you've ensured that everyone is okay and that the bleeding has stopped, act quickly to catch blood stains before they set in. To remove blood from laundry, start by laying the clothing or sheets out on a flat surface. Next, open the WD-40 bottle nozzle and spray the solution directly onto the stain, completely covering the area. Allow the WD-40 to work its magic for a few minutes, then blot away the stain with a damp sponge or towel. Finally, wash and dry the item on a normal cycle and be amazed at your results!

To remove blood and other stains from the carpet, spray WD-40 directly onto the stain and let it soak until the foaming bubbles are gone. With a damp paper towel or cleaning rag, gently dab and push at the stain to lift it out of the carpet fibers. Never rub back and forth with carpet stains, as this will typically just spread the stain further and deeper. If needed, repeat the WD-40 treatment and keep dabbing at the stain until it is completely gone. Follow up with a dry towel to soak up any remaining moisture from your carpet. 

How does this versatile garage product work to free up blood stains? The formula for WD-40 is kept top secret, but we do know from WD-40's website that it contains a blend of lubricant oils, surfactants, and solvents.  Surfactants and solvents are some key ingredients in cleaning supplies, especially stain removers and detergents. Surfactants decrease the surface tension between water and dirt molecules, or in this case, dried blood — and lift them up from the clothing fibers so they can easily be wiped away. Solvents work in a similar way, breaking up and dissolving small particles. These two ingredients together give WD-40 its powerful cleaning abilities, and WD-40 can even remove other stains like makeup, dirt, and oil!

Using WD-40 is a great substitute for stain remover in a pinch and can help you save time on laundry and spend less on commercial products. However, you should always be cautious when using products not intended for stains on clothing. WD-40 may not work for all fabrics, especially delicate fabrics like silk or cashmere. WD-40 itself is an oil, so applying too much can leave you with a big oil stain. Always wash your clothes immediately after using WD-40 to remove stains to prevent the oil from setting in.