How to Clean Blood from Walls

9 de enero de 2013

How to Clean Blood from Walls

Putting aside those lurid visions of a crime scene, even everyday households can have bloodstains—if you have children, pets or are just plain clumsy, those random bumps, scrapes, falls and other accidents may sometimes cause blood spots to end up on your walls. The stains can be alarming, and making them disappear presents a special challenge, but a few common cleaning materials do work well. The real trick is to attack the splatter as soon as possible after it hits the wall—instead of letting it dry. That way it'll come off fairly easily.

Edit Steps

Soap and Water Method

This is the simplest method to follow for removing bloodstains from walls. It is best for bloodstains which are still fresh or can be applied as a preliminary technique to dried bloodstains. This method is suitable for either white or colored walls.

Pour some cold water into a bucket. Add around three squirts of dishwashing detergent. Use your hand to swish around the dish washing detergent in the water until it suds up.

Dip a washcloth, rag or sponge in the soap solution. Wring out any excess water, to ensure that the cleaning cloth is not dripping wet.

Gently rub at the stain with the washcloth, rag or sponge.

Dip the washcloth, rag or sponge again in the soap solution. Wring and gently dab at the stain. Repeat the process until the stain is completely gone.

Dab at the area with a dry cloth. Let it dry completely.

Commercial Stain Removal Pad Method

For tougher bloodstains, such as those which have dried up and were not completely removed by soap and water, try using commercial cleaning erasers. (These stain-removing pads are designed to remove household stains from hard surfaces.)

Wet the stain removal pad with some water.

Gently rub at the bloodstain with the pad.

Repeat the process. Keep wetting the pad and rubbing at the bloodstain until it is completely removed.

Let the wall air dry.

Spray Cleaner Method

Commercial spray cleaners containing oxidizing agents such as bleach (sodium hypochlorite) or Peroxide (Hydrogen Peroxide) may be sprayed directly on a bloodstain. The advantage to this method or to adding Bleach or Peroxide to the previous methods is that these cleaners are disinfectants which will neutralize many blood-borne disease agents including most bacteria and many viruses. Read the labels for specific applications.

Spray the cleaner onto the stain

Rub using a sponge or paper towel until the stain loosens

Rinse and remove residue with a water dampened sponge or paper towel.

Note: Blood removes as a solid and will come off the surface as particles, as well as a water soluble stain. Several rinses may be necessary both to remove the stain and to remove residual oxidizer.

Allow the wall to air dry, or alternatively, wipe with a dry paper towel or white (bleachable) terrycloth towelling.

Edit Tips

It is best to tackle the bloodstain as soon as possible, instead of letting it dry before attempting to remove it.

The cleaning method you use to remove bloodstains on walls may also depend on the type of paint used. Test out your cleaning material, especially if it is a chemical solution, on a small portion of the wall to ensure that the paint does not come off.

For really tough bloodstains which have already set and cannot be removed by the above methods, you might have to resort to repainting the stained area of your wall.

Edit Warnings

If your walls are white, other methods you can try include bleach and water, or hydrogen peroxide. Make sure that you do not try these methods on painted walls, as the chemicals may ruin the paint. Alternatively, be prepared to repaint the wall area (it's a good idea to keep a small, well-sealed left over form the original paint job, for touch-ups).