Getting Rid of Blood and Amniotic Fluid Stains - Page 1

Maybe some of you more experienced breeders can tell me how to get towels looking a little more clean after using them to wipe off newborn pups. I've washed these twice so far in cold water (sorry, that's all the washing machine is hooked up to) and they still look really really grubby. I'll never use them in the bathroom or kitchen again, but it would be nice to at least get them clean enough to use in the grooming room, without clients seeing them and thinking 'YUUCKKK!!" 

Best place for them is the bin....

I buy towels from the local charity shop for said purpose, boil wash them first and thats all they do before they hit the bin.

I have never even attempted to get them clean... certain birth stains just aren't worth the washing powder to try to get out!

You could try soaking them in bleach, but i do have to agree with Karen and bin them

Thank you. I did put some bleach in with the first wash, but it didn't help much.

Some of them don't look too bad after two washings. I'll keep them and chuck the rest.

Someone gave me a whole bunch of cheap cotton dish towels a couple of years ago. I am up to my eyeballs in nice dish towels, so I nearly gave these away when I was whittling down my stuff before my move. I'm now glad I didn't. They were a really nice size for the pups. Alas, that's the only use some of them are ever going to get....

Looks like we'll have to have one of the 10  pups euthaized. It's got a cleft palate.  

Oh heck... keep checking the babies... if theres one... there will possibly be others (I lost a litter to clefts) sometimes it can take upto 4 days for the clefts to 'open'  I had only one pup that didn't... until 3 days when it did... so be vigilant and keep checking daily ... good luck.

Peroxide cleans blood stains, but I am not sure if it will get rid of the amniotic fluid stains. We have towels for that purpose and never use them for anything else.

I'll second Silbersee's advice.  Working for a Vet and doing surgery we generally used H2O2 in the prewash soak water to remove blood stains.  Not sure if it'll work on that green yuck stain, but on blood definately.

I will third the h2o2 advice.....but you need a lot! Cold water is best for blood, hot water sets the stain. Being a medical professional (human kind lol) I know that bleach kills even the HIV virus....I bleach my towels and put them away for next litter. Stains and sterility are some of the reasons why most hospitals have gone to disposable drapes and sheets for human births and surgeries. Birth is not necessarily a sterile process, but should be as clean as possible. As long as the towels have been bleached they are fine to use again, if you can get past the stains. I also get my towels from thrift stores, garage sales, and from friends and family tossing out old ones. I also like the woven cotten blankets (no fuzzballs from little nails nursing) and flannel sheets. Good luck!

Oh heck... keep checking the babies... if theres one... there will possibly be others (I lost a litter to clefts) sometimes it can take upto 4 days for the clefts to 'open'

I'm sorry that happened to you. That must have been very hard.

I just wanted to report that only the one pup seems to have been affected. The remaining 9 are all healthy and thriving!

Oh heck... keep checking the babies... if theres one... there will possibly be others (I lost a litter to clefts) sometimes it can take upto 4 days for the clefts to 'open'

I'm sorry that happened to you. That must have been very hard.

I just wanted to report that only the one pup seems to have been affected. The remaining 9 are all healthy and thriving!

I doubt it was genetic in this case, as the previous litter was fine. I think this little girl was just too cramped for space in the womb. She was weaker from the get-go, and also had a twisted foot.