# How to get blood out of a polyester jacket? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985 "2010-06-04T22:09:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/1 "2010-06-04T22:09:59Z")
My Wife had a bike accident. “On your left” does not mean move to the left. Another inexperienced cyclist cut her off because he MOVED to the left :smack:. She landed on her face on asphault. She is OK. But it required an ER visit. She is now resting at home. Sorry, I’m still full of adrenaline and nervous energy. Lot’s of blood was involved. She’s on blood thinners. So the front of her expensive Pearl Izumi jacket has quite a bit of blood on it. Like the title of the OP says, what is best to do? Soak it in cold water and hope for the best. Sould I use any soap initialy? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/2 "2010-06-04T22:18:53Z")
Salt water, or really any water soluble substance which makes a hypertonic solution. [Step by step tutorial.](http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/clothing-and-fabrics/stain-removal/how-to-remove-blood-stains/) ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/3 "2010-06-04T22:43:31Z")
Why is she on blood thinners? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/4 "2010-06-04T22:47:59Z")
Yee-ouch, sorry to hear that. My suggestion would be get it soaking in cold water and \*\*WhyNot’s \*\*solution - you need to stay away from hot water and scrubbing because you don’t want to hemolyze the blood cells - once they burst, the stain is never coming out. My experience with blood stains is that I wish you the very best with this - they truly are the worst. And my best wishes for your wife, too. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/5 "2010-06-04T22:48:37Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Why is she on blood thinners? Not that uncommon, wonder why you ask. Anyway, DVT. Factor 5 liden (sp). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/6 "2010-06-04T22:51:53Z")
So hypertonic is when there is so much salt that it will not dissolve? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/7 "2010-06-04T23:08:24Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Not that uncommon, wonder why you ask. > > Anyway, DVT. Factor 5 liden (sp). Not a doctor, so I was wondering why her blood needed to be thinned. I would have thought you’d want it to clot so it’ll stop bleeding and develop some scabs. ---
**Author:** ![Odaran09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Odaran09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odaran09)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/8 "2010-06-04T23:30:12Z")
**Spit!** I am not kidding. My best friends wife is in a nursing program and she told me about this. But there is a caveat. The spit has to be provided by the person who bled. It has to do with enzymes in your own spit being able to break down the blood. I have tried it myself and it worked. I google’d this to see if I could find a scientific cite, but I just found a bunch of self help sites that referenced it. I am not sure how long after the stain sets that the spit works but I know it has worked the few times I cut myself at work. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/9 "2010-06-04T23:31:06Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Not a doctor, so I was wondering why her blood needed to be thinned. I would have thought you’d want it to clot so it’ll stop bleeding and develop some scabs. Ahh. She has been on blood thinners for a few years. It’s to prevent her from getting clots even when no injury is involved. It can make sports a bit dangerous though. She bleeds real good. She is still bleeding a bit from the inside of her mouth. It could have been much, much worse (it looked it). Three point landing on her nose, upper lip and chin. The helmet was not even scratched. Hands wrists elbows and knees don’t have so much as a scratch. Stunning. Lucky girl. Got the blood stains off. Thanks all. I ran the jacket under cold cold water and directed the spray at the stains. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/10 "2010-06-07T15:09:41Z")
I was so glad not to see “Need answer fast!” when I opened this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/11 "2010-06-07T15:19:23Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > So hypertonic is when there is so much salt that it will not dissolve? No, that would be “saturated.” “Hypertonic” just means “more concentrated than the fluid inside your cells,” or roughly 0.9% ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/12 "2010-06-07T15:22:31Z")
> **[How to Remove Blood Stains](https://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-remove-blood-stains2.htm)** > > Blood stains are one of the most difficult type to remove. Learn to remove blood stains, clean spots, treat stains, and apply stain removers. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/13 "2010-06-07T15:31:47Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > So hypertonic is when there is so much salt that it will not dissolve? Answered already, but I’ll elaborate. “isotonic” is the same level of solutes (salt or other stuff that will dissolve) in the solution as is in the bloodstream. Hypotonic means less solutes than in blood, and hypertonic means more solutes than in blood. You don’t need so much salt that it won’t dissolve, but the water should taste salty. > [@YogSosoth](#): > > Not a doctor, so I was wondering why her blood needed to be thinned. I would have thought you’d want it to clot so it’ll stop bleeding and develop some scabs. Blood clotting is good when there’s a hole where blood wants to get out of the body, but it’s not so good when the blood is supposed to be flowing through the vein. Some people have problems with clots forming inside the bloodstream, and those clots can block blood vessels just like a clog in your drain. If you have one of these conditions, medications can be given which reduce the body’s ability to make those clots, and we call them “blood thinners”. They don’t really \*thin \*the blood literally, but they make clots less likely to form. Good when the blood is all inside where it’s supposed to be, but problematic when there’s an injury. **enipla** , I’ve found that the most amazing styptic for patients on blood thinners is the powder of the yarrow plant. I keep a jar in the bathroom near the razors for my warfarin taking significant other. When he gets a cut, he just takes a pinch of the powder and lightly presses it over the wound and it stops the bleeding in short order. Works better for him than styptic pencils ever have. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/14 "2010-06-07T15:41:52Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > **enipla** , I’ve found that the most amazing styptic for patients on blood thinners is the powder of the yarrow plant. I keep a jar in the bathroom near the razors for my warfarin taking significant other. When he gets a cut, he just takes a pinch of the powder and lightly presses it over the wound and it stops the bleeding in short order. Works better for him than styptic pencils ever have. Thanks, I’ll look into the Yarrow plant. She got sent home from the hospital at about 2pm. It looked like the bleeding had stopped. But it slowly kept seeping. It wasn’t till 9pm that I finally got it to stop. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/15 "2010-06-07T16:29:54Z")
Oxyclean-type laundry products are very good at getting out blood. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/16 "2010-06-07T16:32:18Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Oxyclean-type laundry products are very good at getting out blood. Note that these are strong bleaching agents and may fade or dull clothing colors. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/17 "2010-06-08T05:55:45Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Note that these are strong bleaching agents and may fade or dull clothing colors. No,they’re the all-fabric bleaches. I use them on dark stuff all the time…Yep, I just checked the package - “colorsafe”. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/18 "2010-06-08T10:18:03Z")
Since the accident was caused by the other rider failing to follow the rules of the road, just include the cost of a replacement jacket in the bill you give to him. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/19 "2010-06-08T15:34:52Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Thanks, I’ll look into the Yarrow plant. She got sent home from the hospital at about 2pm. It looked like the bleeding had stopped. But it slowly kept seeping. It wasn’t till 9pm that I finally got it to stop. Yarrow is pretty much a weed, so buy one plant (or go dig some up out of a ditch somewhere) and stick it in your yard, and you should always have a good supply. Make sure the yarrow you buy at a greenhouse is perennial where you are - it’s tough stuff, but you’re up pretty high. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985/20 "2010-06-08T17:37:05Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Yarrow is pretty much a weed… :eek: ☹ _sniff_ Okay, yeah, it’s a weed. But it’s a [pretty](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=yarrow&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=6X4OTLuYM4GeMvTAvbkM&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CDMQsAQwAA)weed! 😛 And, call me crazy, but it might already be growing in your yard, probably unnoticed all these years. I keep stumbling on plants right where they’re most needed. I swear, one of these days I’m going to see if I can diagnose a household’s maladies simply by poking around in their gardens! If you pick it fresh, you’ll want to dry it, either in a food dehydrator or just laid out on some brown grocery bags and flipped once a day. Then give it a whir in your coffee grinder and you’ll have lovely yarrow powder! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-blood-out-of-a-polyester-jacket/541985.md?page=2)