Blood doesn't clean up too easily, does it?

[kentauros]

And I've found that big toes like to bleed a long time compared to the other extremities.

One thing's for sure: it woke me up!

[Hayabusa]

1. Holy crap!

What happened?

[kentauros]

4. I stepped on something in my carpet that I was not expecting.

After I stopped dripping and got a bandage on it, I got down on my knees and searched the area. It was around my cat's scratching post and while I found plenty of shedded claws that could have done it, I also found a piece of glass that looked like it once belonged to a CFL. As I haven't broken any lately, I'm perplexed as to how it got there.

I'm just glad I found it before he did. I'm not worried about the carpeting, either. It's likely about 20 years old (apartment living!) and will be thrown out whenever I move.

[TorchTheWitch]

13. Oxyclean is amazing on carpet

I've gotten out damn near every type of stain imaginable with that stuff. I've used it on blood many times. In fact, it cleans spots so well that it makes the rest of the carpet look filthy.

In this room I'm in there's a light colored gold carpet that's been here heaven knows how many eons, but it still looks quite nice since it's obvious that before I moved in here it was regularly steam cleaned. Obvious because of the very noticeable thin almost black dirty ring around the perimeter where the carpet meets the walls since no cleaning machine can get totally all the way to the walls. I cleaned that black dirty perimeter with a sponge and Oxyclean, and it cleaned it so well that it made the rest of the carpet look dirty. I ended up on my hands and knees with a bucket of it and did the rest of the room. Turns out the light gold carpet when new was lighter than I thought it was. The Oxyclean and water solution in the bucket turned nearly black with all the dirt that came out of the carpet I had thought was really clean. Now I use it all the time to clean all the carpets and even in the rental steam cleaners instead of all the solutions you're supposed to buy to go with it that don't work anywhere near as well. The Oxyclean also is FAR easier to clean from the machine since you have to clean it before returning it.

I use it in laundry, in the bathroom for stubborn stains in the sink and tub and all kinds of other stuff except for flooring since it leaves a residue on what's supposed to be a shiny floor though it's great for stubborn spots on flooring as long as you rinse it well. It's also awesome on walls especially getting rid of nicotine staining.

I freaking LOVE the stuff.

[kentauros]

16. Thanks for the tips and instruction!

I've never used it, so I'll have a look at their products this weekend. I have some other stains (spilled printer ink) I'd like to either remove or at least reduce.

[TorchTheWitch]

19. for ink use lighter fluid

I'm not kidding. Regular lighter fluid takes out ink stains. You might have to clean the lighter fluid out of the carpet if it's a big stain because the bigger the stain the more lighter fluid you need to use, but Oxyclean was great for that though it didn't do much for the lighter fluid odor. Eventually that odor went away though on it's own.

This one I learned when I was cleaning an apartment I used to live in so I could move out. I dropped a pen on the carpet that had been leaking because the dog got hold of it and chewed on it, and ink puddled from the leaking pen onto the carpet. Trying to sop up the worst of it and then trying to clean it up with some kind of regular cleaning product I had on hand only stirred it around making a GIANT bright blue spot on a light beige carpet. I was freaking out because the carpet was put in new before I moved in, I'd only lived there a year, and the landlord was an asshole. I had to get my security deposit back because I needed it for the deposit on the place I was moving to. So, I totally panicked and called my mom in the hope of borrowing money because I didn't think there was any way to get that giant ink stain out and I thought I'd not get my security deposit back. She told me about using lighter fluid, and though on that huge stain I had to use most of what I had on hand and then clean the lighter fluid spot afterward, but damn it actually worked! The only problem at that point was the odor of lighter fluid, so when the landlord came to inspect I put my boots hiking boots in that room right near where I had cleaned the ink off the carpet, stayed in my stocking feet and told the landlord that I had spilled lighter fluid on the top of my boots and it still reeked. LOL! Hey, it worked!

It also works on chewing gum and tar, too.... I've gotten both on my carpet from unknowingly having it on the bottom of my shoes.

I tell you though, the Oxyclean gets out just about everything from the carpet. Just last week I spilled almost a whole cup of hot chocolate on the steps when the dog jostled me, and after it dried I used the Oxyclean and it came right out. Same thing with tea, coffee, cola, wine, fruit juice, etc. I've managed to spill them all. You just have to let the Oxyclean/water mixture soak down all the way to the bottom of the stain to get it all out, and then just use some clean rags or towels to get out as much of the wetness as you can because if it really gets soaked and left to dry by itself it can mold and cause a new stain from that. During humid weather I also use a fan to dry a real wet spot as fast as possible so it doesn't have a chance to mold up. I also discovered that letting a stain like spilled liquid dry first and then getting it with the Oxyclean works better just because of their being no added moisture. I sop up as much as I can while the stain is still wet, let it dry out and then attack it with the Oxyclean. Comes right out and usually without having to soak the spot at all. Although I admit with that hot chocolate I didn't sop up any of it first since I burned the crap out of my hand when I spilled it all over. The Oxyclean still took it all out with just one application.

By the way, since you have to mix it with water it's kind of hard to tell when you clean a spot if it worked well or not just because the carpet is wet so it looks about 20 shades darker. Once it dries you almost always end up with a spot that's even cleaner than the rest of the carpet.

Also, with a really big mess (like a bucket full of vomit from a really big dog) it might take two or three applications before the stain comes out completely... even works on a bucket full of the runs from a really big dog with a few of applications. Been there, done that. LOL!

[Kali]

2. ow!

cold water - lots. if the blood it pretty fresh you should be able to get most of it out of anything. avoid hot water and bleach, they will set the stains.

I hung my finger on a sharp barb of barbed wire this evening and that sucker bled for an hour!

[kentauros]

6. Well, I did use warm water on the wound,

as I couldn't find my H2O2 until later. Also, I have these great surplus medical towels that soak up anything liquid! Kind of appropriate I'd need them for something medical

Thanks for the advice. I've managed to clean up most of the spots. I'll try some White Wizard stuff in a while, see if it helps. The carpet is old and not a loss if stained, but I don't like stains showing anyway.

Damn! That's gotta hurt, too! The things we do to ourselves

[Kali]

11. really tight texas gate, new wire

oh yeah warm water and good old soap for the wound, cold for the carpet, upholstry, towels, clothes, bedding etc etc etc

I am fine, I am always bleeding all over the place.

[kentauros]

12. The dangers of ranch work

So, have you got a dozen First Aid kits stashed all over the place?

What's a Texas gate, anyway? My parents have a gate to get on their Texas property, but I'm not sure it's the same thing.

[Kali]

20. first aid kits? heh - side of my pants or shirt, rarely some tp in the truck

if it is bleeding bad enough might as well go to the house (or a hospital) and get properly cleaned up

what we always called a texas or a wire gate is a floppy gate made with 4 to 6 strands of barbed wire between two posts and usually held with two loops of wire for both the "hinge" side and the "latch" side (sometimes a cheater bar or primitive rope pulley system on the top of latch side)

this one was made with different wire but same idea (stolen pic, too lazy to go take one)

[kentauros]

21. Maybe just carry a handkerchief or bandana then

I recognize the "gate" you're talking about now. I remember my late grandfather having at least a couple on their property, but no one ever named the "style". Simple, cheap, and still keeps the animals contained.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Maybe it's time to invest in a good pair of toe clippers?

[kentauros]

7. For my cat, I take him to the vet.

For me, I have a good pair. However, they don't stop inexplicable shards of glass lurking in old apartment carpeting

[Chan790]

5. Hydrogen peroxide.

Test it on an inconspicuous spot first, on some materials it acts like bleach and on a few others it will leave shadow-stains where the blood was. They look like spots that are slightly darker or in the shade.

[kentauros]

8. I'm not too worried about shading problems

but I will try your solution. My bathmat has drips all over it, as I was searching for the peroxide, a towel, and bandages. I better do that now before it all dries too much.

Thanks!

[Hayabusa]

9. Just make sure, if you got any blood on the rug...

to make sure that the container that says it's a spray carpet cleaner isn't actually a bleach solution used while doing laundry... Yeah, that happened to me once. Big splotches of bleached white instead of a few tiny drops of blood...

[kentauros]

10. Right now I've got some peroxide bubbling away on the spots.

I was a bit surprised to see how much the bloody spots bubbled compared to the surrounding carpet. Then again, I'm still getting over the dregs of a cold.

As for this carpet, I may have to post a pic of it sometime. It's more of a cushion and sound-deadener than something nice to look at (or care what it looks like.)

[LiberalEsto]

14. Get a styptic pencil

or some styptic powder.
Usually found in the men's shaving supplies section in a drugstore.

I had a cut on a small toe a couple of months ago that refused to heal and bled intensely for many days.
Got a styptic pencil (it looks like a stick of white chalk). You wet it and hold it against the bleeding area, and somehow it slows or stops the bleeding. I needed to use this many times before the cut finally healed.

[kentauros]

15. That's a good idea.

I'll have to look for one to keep around

I was surprised at how much blood leaked out. Then again, my cat poked a hole in my other toe months ago and it bled profusely, too. I guess that means I still have good circulation in them.

[davsand]

17. Another option for stains:

Use FRESH peroxide mixed with with dish soap and water. make sure whatever you are treating is color fast or else plan on treating the whole thing at once so it ALL fades together...

Spray it on and let it sit for a few minutes then wash as normal. Check it after a wash (but before it dries) and re-treat and wash again if the stain didn't lift completely the first time.

I saved a red t-shirt for my daughter a couple of years ago using this. It was the first time she wore it and somebody dumped a glass of red wine down the front of her by accident. She was seriously upset about it and I was resigned to probably having to buy her a duplicate shirt simply because I felt so bad for her. It took two washes and treatments to remove the stain, but it did work, and the shirt was still red when the stain was gone.


Laura



Oh--I can't stress enough how important it is to use a newly opened bottle of peroxide. Not sure why, but I've been using this witches' brew for a while now, and I found that it made ALL the difference.

[kentauros]

18. What's the recipe or ratio of peroxide to dish soap?

I can guess, but if you've had success with a certain recipe, go ahead and share it. I noticed this morning that some of the spots are still there, though faded. I'm not worried about carpet stains, but if I can used this on some of my nicer t-shirts, this would be a great stain-remover to keep around

My toe is sore this morning, though well-cleaned. I'll change the bandage this evening and clean with more peroxide. And I think I better vacuum in case there are more of those stupid glass shards I may have missed...