Use Saliva to Remove Blood Stains

By

TexasLiz

In my years of quilting I always spit on blood stains when I pricked my finger. It's not icky to me, just an easy way not to have a dried blood stain on a lovely piece of fabric. And it works every time, not just sometimes.

By

JagLady

It's due to the protein nature of the stain (blood) and protein-breaking nature of the enzyme (saliva). If the bloodstain is only a drop or two, human saliva reacts much the same as hydrogen peroxide. Saliva contains protease enzymes that dissolve blood and allow it to be "blotted" away.

By

Debbie52

I think the saliva solution sounds kind of icky too but I suppose it would be worth a try. Every month though I have to get menstrual blood stains out of my daughter's panties and don't think I'd want to fool around with having her give me some of her saliva....would take way too long and it's bad enough I have to deal with the blood. What I've found works best for getting out the menstrual blood is to put the panties under cold running water and get most of it out and then for the remaining, I let sit in clean cold water. If I get to it right away it comes right out with nothing but cold water. You must use cold water though as hot will set the stain. Once I get the stain out, then I can launder as usual. I hate having to do this monthly but better than a bunch of ruined panties! My daughter started her period young :-(

By

lizz50

I haven't tried it in years but was surprised how well "Murphy's Wood Oil" rubbed in before washing worked for stain removal especially blood. Nice memories for some of us how the mothers or aunts always had those hankies tucked in their sweater cuffs for quick access in church.

By

gigurl

Very interesting, but I think I'll stick with peroxide also. Eww!

By

Deezer

I was watching a PBS cross stitch show years back and the host was telling how as far back as the 1800's women discovered when they stuck their finger with the needle and got blood on the needlework, they would put white cotton thread in their mouth and work it around until wet, then take it out and "work" on the stain. She went on to say it only works on your "own" stain. Well, it obviously still works.

By

PIKKA

How cool.

By

Kas2

I agree that it is icky, however, it's got some things going for it too. It's free, and it would be very handy if needed when there are no hydrogen peroxide available at that time, like perhaps in the car, and there is none in the car, saliva is right there, and right now. The only way for me to know if saliva works or not, I guess I'll just have to wait until it ever happens again.

Hey, in my age, I grew up with "spit baths" mostly from grandmothers with their hankies that smell like the inside of their pocketbooks, and mints, while in church with the hankie wrapped around their forefinger, spit, and go at our faces or stray hairs on our heads. Yeah, I didn't like that much either, though, there are still people now, who find that spit baths are adorable. ;)

By

OliveOyl

The best thing to remove blood stains is hydrogen peroxide. Sorry, but the saliva suggestion sounds icky to me.