Removing blood stains?

[launderess]

Automatic dishwasher detergents in all forms are far more alkaline than laundry products. Higher pH alone would account for shifting blood (again that ammonia or other base substance thing..). Piled on would be fact automatic dishwasher detergent normally contains good amount of oxygen bleach, and perhaps activator. Again you can see why such a thing would shift blood stains.

This being said due to high pH laundering textiles with automatic dishwasher detergents isn't highly recommended.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

My go to is H2O2 and I've found that adding salt helps tremendously.

1. Splash on the hydrogen peroxide.
2. Add enough salt to make a paste.
3. Scrub with an old toothbrush to work the paste into the fabric.
4. Wait until the fizzing stops, rinse, and repeat until stain is gone.

 

[iej]

No I wouldn’t suggest dishwashing detergent on a regular basis.

Apart from the chemicals and enzymes there are three factors to consider

Time
Turbulence
Temperature

With modern enzyme detergents you’re probably aiming for a lot of time, a moderate temperature and not too much turbulence - but enough to keep the wash liquor circulating and mixed.

If you’re not getting results vary the ratio of the above.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

tide heavy duty power pods

I recommend she try using tide heavy duty power pods and cold water. I used the normal/casual cycle on cold water with auto soak and turbo wash. The normal/casual cycle is the equivalent to the normal cottons cycle. Workout wear is permanent press equivalent which I rarely use. I mostly use normal/casual.

 

[draperwhitney]

Ice Cubes Do the Trick

Per the folks at Spray and Wash......Ice Cubes!

Works like a charm!! Ice breaks down the proteins in blood.

Place an old towel or washcloth underneath the spot to catch absorption, then place an ice cube, or ice cubes, directly on the spot of blood and allow the ice to simply melt. Then, launder as usual.

If the spot is larger, soak the entire garment in a bowl of cold water to which you add ice cubes or else fill the washer with enough cold water to cover the garment and toss in a sauce pan of ice cubes. Allow the ice to melt.

This trick is a Godsend!

 

[good-shepherd]

Back when we nurses wore the white uniforms

They should bring white nurse uniforms back.

Why dd they switch to dark uniforms, was it because the nurses got too fat and needed colors that were more slimming?

 

[askolover]

Here in the States, quite possibly.  I was told that hospitals were changing because the white was so cold and sterile and patients were nervous enough...white coat hypertension. They felt a little color might lighten the moods a little.  My new department wears gray.  So I have black, navy, royal, light blue, and green scrubs I don't wear anymore.  And I still have the whites...never know when we might need them.  We used to be so proud to wear the whites....This was 24 years ago......funny how dark my hair was then...now it's dark ash blonde and getting white.

[this post was last edited: 3/5/2022-05:45]

 

[iej]

It depends on the hospital here, but just looking though the dress code for my local major public teaching hospital and basically every role seems to have a different colour coded uniform, ranging from scrubs to tunic with different trims and so on for quick identification.

Huge range of colours: white, blue, purple, pink, lilac, orange, wine, green, yellow … some departments, particularly anything to do with kids, wear cartoon prints and stuff.

Doctors don’t necessarily wear white coats but are usually either in scrubs or just smart casual type clothes if they’re not in an area that needs PPE. Same seems to apply to a lot of other non medical consultants like dieticians, psychologists, etc etc but hands on roles like physical therapy, radiology, radiotherapy etc all seem to have uniforms.

But the days of white coats and white tunics seem to be long gone in most places.

Their specification for uniforms was that they must be capable of being washed at 60°C (140°F) and be able to handle normal biological detergents - special care fabrics are not used.

Other thing they note is that ties or neck ware of any type are banned for hygiene and safety reasons and most jewellery too.

 

[sudsmaster]

I second the suggestion to try STPP to get out blood stains. Providing you're in an area where its use is allowed.

STPP chelates metal ions and facilitates their removal from fabrics, and since a main component of blood is iron, I figure it should work on blood stains. I find STPP to be a good laundry additive for any kind of stain removal.