What should I do about blood stained sheets?

[Alain311]

Hi everyone,  

So I had this female guests, staying a few days, she was an ok guest, a bit awkward but still nice and I have nothing to really complain about, she also left me a thank you note. I started cleaning the bedroom and noticed 2 big dried blood stain, some brown marks there and there too (dried blood rubbed around) and the white towels became orange (bronzer). I was able to remove the stains and got everything white again, thanks to baking soda a bit, of hydrogen peroxide and a good scrub, washed twice with cold water. 

I understand periods are a natural thing woman can't have so much control on, but since it’s the second time I have a guest leaving me this kind of little gift I'm just curious on how you guys would be dealing with this? Would you mention it the review or suck it up as it’s a natural thing, can happen and  my sheets are white again. I would tend to mention it tough. And for those of you who also are guests, what would you do if you have your periods? Would you just leave, say thank you and not think about the blood stain left? Aern't there ways for you girls to avoid to protect the sheets and avoid spills?

I prefer using white sheets, they look more neutral and give a more luxurious feeling, so I'm not planning to change them and since I'm able to remove stains, I'm ok to take the blood risk (I have a longer procedure than what I shortly mentionend before and the stains always go away) 

PS: I will be posting more stories in the next days, that month I only had awkward guests including my worst experience ever, making these blood stains my best airbnb hosting experience of the month. 

[Victoria567]

Hi@Alain

Take a leaf out of my book and provide a couple of winged night times absorbency sanitary pads plus a couple of super plus strength tampax tampons.

It will cost you less than a Dollar and female guests will think you are super considerate and it saves those pesky stains as many women have irregular  periods.

For the stains if you have white sheets only disk in a diluted solution of bleach prior to washing otherwise you will set the stain for ever !

[Victoria567]

wash not disk 

[Clara116]

@Denis-And-Vidal0 don't use bleach - start with soaking in very cold water with white vinegar/water 10 mins. then rinse....then 10 mins in hydrogen proxide/water and also add some soap detergent..use a brush and lightly scrub.......I've gotten out some pretty awful stains............BUT if they are dried in more difficult. So if still wet you should be able to remove. Last resort is small amount of bleach. It does yellow things and so I pretty much don't use it. good luck and happy hosting

[Dawn319]

A quick cleaning tip for removing blood: vinegar/lemon and bicarbonate of soda is a great, natural effervescent combination. If the blood stain is dried, you can also dampen it with very cold water and apply a layer of unseasoned meat tenderizer for a few hours. It helps to break down the proteins and you can rinse and wash it with Oxy Clean or other stain removers afterwards.  I also keep a couple disposable inconteninence pads (hospital bed liners) that guests can use, especially if they know they have a heavy flow. They are really cheap and save both your guest from embarrassment and saves you the headache (and expense) of having to clean stained sheets. l hope these tips help.

[Sandrine316]

Hi there,

I have blood issue very often but never did to period. A lot of men leave blood stains too. I guess it is cuts. Sometimes they are not big so I miss them before putting them in the washing machine/dryer.

I struggle to remove the stains. What is your magic weapon you mentioned?

I also use white sheets.

Many thanks

Sandrine

[Clara116]

@Sandrine316 Blood stains and other fluids are very unpleasant for certain. If you have missed it and put it in the washer/ dryer with heat - you will not get it out - you could try bleaching but its a gamble for sure.  Best things are soak in cold water......soak in vinegar water...........soak in hydrogen perxiode....light scubbing...and keep soaking and scrubbing till it is gone....some use Oxi and that seems to work...I use 20 Mule Team Borax also to help clean. Good luck and happy hosting, Clara

[Sandrine316]

@Clara0Thank you for the suggestions, there are some I haven’t tried yet so will give that a go. 

All the best!

[Sandra856]

@Sandrine316 Using ice cold water, not lukewarm but really, really cold water. Rinse the stains. Add Oxy Action or something like that. If you use warm water it will set the stains. The protein in the blood will bind to the fibres in the fabric and you will never get it out.

Cold water + Oxy ☆

Best, Sandra 

[Dede0]

As far as the bronzer on the towels issue, we did a couple of things a few years ago. First, we stopped using white or light-colored towels, washcloths, etc. Second, we added a container of makeup-removal wipes in the washroom AND placed a folded note card asking people to use the wipes rather than towels to remove makup, sunscreen, etc.  The stained towels dropped by 95%.

We've found bloodstains and wine stains to be mostly removeable by a combination of pre-treating with commercial sprays (let those soak for at least 30 minutes before washing) and then washing with chlorine bleach. I sometimes also pre-treat with strong bleach concentrations.

[Zelde0]

Thanks for this post, I was curious how others felt on this subject because I personally try to take care of any of my own blood stains myself when I'm staying in other Airbnbs since the sooner you get to it the easier it is to remove, but that doesn't seem to be common knowledge... And I definitely don't want to shame anyone!

I have a pretty good success rate getting blood out of everything, though, here's my method: Rinse it with cold water and scrub it out as soon as possible and then add a bit of soap and scrub it more. Don't use warm it hot water or it will set the stain. Then toss it in the wash as normal and it should be good! Good luck 😊

[Filip12]

Hi everybody,

Don’t know where to start... I’ve been having the issue for a couple of years now, but treated it, like you say - as a „part of the business”. Until recently - during the last 6 months we had to dispose of dozens (!) of bed sheets and mattress protectors due to female blood stains, that couldn’t be removed. Literary every second reservation with a female guest ends up with bloody stains. I no longer know what to do, as it’s just getting too expensive! 

And for the record - there are sanitary towels and tampons as a STANDARD in my apartments, available and visible in every bathroom...

[Emilia42 · Accepted solution]

@Filip12, blood is actually really easy to get out. Do you use white sheets? Immediately when you find the stain run under cold, cold water. Sometimes I use a little dish soap and work that into the stain. A lot of times the blood rinses out right then and there but then I throw the sheet into the washing machine and wash in cold water with bleach. The second the blood touches hot/warm water the stain will set. 

[Filip12]

Emilia,

I know all the secrects and so my loundry service do. But the problem is that I don’t find out about it straight away - it’s usually when guests check-out, usually at least 2 days after - and that’s a bit too late...

I know these things happen, but in the end of the day, it is damaging a private property. And how do I politely ask ladies, without offending or embarrasing them, to use sanitaries or tampones? 🙂

[Laleh5]

My situation is like you. I have pads and tampons in my apartment and all my sheets are white. All the women the are books in my plce at this mount haveing a period cycle.  All my women guest made bed and cover mattress full of the blood. I don't call it natural or accident any more. I called messy or dirty.  I am a woman.  I know how can deal with that. I learn it in the middle school and i am extremely suprises why %99 of my women guest they don't know how period is work. I wish i not rude if i make a vido clip and send to  each of them and let them know how can deal with blood or period  

[Sarah977]

@Laleh5  It would be very rude to send them a video clip.  When I referred to it as an "accident", I was just suggesting to call it that to guests, not excusing their lack of care. 

Unfortunately, some women, especially younger ones, may find even acknowledging such things other than to their close girlfriends, to be embarrassing, even though dealing with a period is totally natural to 50% of the adult population.