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Which Laundry Stain Removers Brand Wins?

We compared 14 laundry stain removers options head to head. The Pink Stuff came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.

The verdict
Winner

The Pink Stuff

Price shown in test: $6 for 17 oz, 35 cents per ounce

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Runner-up

OxiClean Spray

Price shown in test: $7 for 12 oz, 58 cents per ounce

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Budget pick

Shout

Price shown in test: $4 for 22 oz, 18 cents per ounce

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The measured results

Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.

ProductGraphite oil stain ranking (1st to 14th of 14)Grape juice stain rankingCoffee stain rankingMustard stain rankingSoy sauce stain rankingKetchup stain ratingGear oil binary ratingFabric fading testFinal combined score (average rating plus average finish)
1The Pink Stuff$6 for 17 oz, 35 cents per ounce10th2nd1st1st4thrating of one (best possible)rating of one (better than expected)no fading observed2.4, the best of all fourteen entries
2OxiClean Spray$7 for 12 oz, 58 cents per ounce1st1st6th6th11thrating of one (best possible)rating of one (better than expected)no fading observed3.2, second best of all fourteen entries
3Shout$4 for 22 oz, 18 cents per ounce3rd3rd2nd8th9thrating of two (not the best possible)rating of one (better than expected)no fading observed3.3, third best of all fourteen entries
4Tide Rescue$5 for 22 oz, 23 cents per ounce2nd10th5th4th8thrating of one (best possible)rating of one (better than expected)no fading observednot tested
5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)14th, the worst of all fourteen entries5th3rd5th2ndrating of two (not the best possible)not testedthe only entry that caused a small amount of fading on the red test shirtnot tested
6Spray'n Wash$3 for 16 oz, 19 cents per ounce9th6th7th7th1st, described as a terrific jobrating of one (best possible)rating of one (better than expected)no fading observednot tested
7De-Solv-It$20 for 12 oz; transcript states $167 per ounce, which is a caption error since $20 divided by 12 oz is $1.67 per ounce, matching the pattern of every other price in the video6th9th14th, the worst of all fourteen entries3rd5thrating of one (best possible)rating of one (better than expected)no fading observednot tested
8OxiClean Gel Stick$5 for 6 oz; transcript states 81 cents per ounce, though $5 divided by 6 oz is closer to 83 cents, a minor rounding discrepancy kept as spoken4th4th11th10th10thrating of two (not the best possible)rating of two (not the best possible)no fading observednot tested
9Stain Rescue$6 for 4 oz; transcript states $50 per ounce, which is a caption error since $6 divided by 4 oz is $1.50 per ounce, the same correction needed for Miss Mouth's identical $6 for 4 oz price a few lines later13th11th4th9th6thrating of one (best possible)rating of one (better than expected)no fading observednot tested
10Dreft$10 for 24 oz, 42 cents per ounce5th12th8th12th7thrating of one (best possible)rating of two (not the best possible)no fading observednot tested
11Miss Mouth's$6 for 4 oz; transcript states $150 per ounce, which is a caption error since $6 divided by 4 oz is $1.50 per ounce, matching the same correction needed for Stain Rescue's identical price a few lines earlier12th8th10th, not spoken directly but the only unassigned rank left in that stain's full 1 through 14 list, derived by elimination13th3rdrating of two (not the best possible)rating of one (better than expected)no fading observednot tested
12Zout$9 for 22 oz, 41 cents per ounce8th13th12th2nd13thrating of one (best possible)rating of one (better than expected)no fading observednot tested
13Attitude$16 for 27 oz, 59 cents per ounce11th7th9th11th, not spoken directly but the only unassigned rank left in that stain's full 1 through 14 list, derived by elimination12thrating of two (not the best possible)rating of two (not the best possible)no fading observednot tested
14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)7th14th, the worst of all fourteen entries13th14th, the worst of all fourteen entries14th, the worst of all fourteen entriesrating of two (not the best possible)rating of two (not the best possible)not testednot tested

How it was tested

  • graphite motor oil stain removal, ranked 1st to 14th
  • grape juice stain removal, ranked 1st to 14th
  • coffee stain removal, ranked 1st to 14th
  • mustard stain removal, ranked 1st to 14th
  • soy sauce stain removal, ranked 1st to 14th
  • ketchup stain removal, binary rating of one or two
  • gear oil stain removal, binary rating of one or two (a second, simpler pass distinct from the ranked oil stain test)
  • fabric fading on a red test shirt
  • stain transfer and whiteness retention (aggregate only, no per product breakdown given)

the pink stuff came out on top with a 2.4

From the test video verdict.
Data notes and caveats

Fourteen entries competed across six named stains (graphite motor oil, grape juice, coffee, mustard, soy sauce, ketchup) plus a fading test and a stain transfer test: the twelve branded stain removers plus a homemade hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent mixture and a plain detergent only control, both included as reference points and given full 1st to 14th placements alongside the real brands. Several brand names are mangled by auto captions (Dreft as draft, drift, DFT; Zout as is out, out; Miss Mouth's as Miss Moue, Miss Mouse; De-Solv-It as dissolve it, dissolvent) and were resolved against the description's product list. Two pairs of numbers were derived rather than taken verbatim: Miss Mouth's and Stain Rescue's per ounce prices are both captioned with implausible values ($150 and $50 per ounce) that are simple caption errors given both products cost $6 for 4 oz, which is $1.50 per ounce; De-Solv-It's captioned $167 per ounce is likewise just $20 divided by 12 oz read without its decimal point, correctly $1.67. Two per stain rankings (coffee for Miss Mouth's, mustard for Attitude) omit a number in the spoken recap; both are filled in by elimination since exactly one rank position is left unassigned in an otherwise complete 1 through 14 list for that stain. The video's intro promises a comparison of which product removes bad smells like the gear oil, but no distinct smell specific ranking or result is ever narrated separately from the visual stain removal assessment; this appears to be a promise that was not delivered as its own test. The stain transfer and whiteness test gives only an aggregate result (roughly half the shirts kept a bright white rating of one, half darkened to a rating of two) with zero per brand attribution, so it could not be recorded per product. Only the top three entries have a narrator stated final combined score (Pink Stuff 2.4, OxiClean Spray 3.2, Shout 3.3); the rest of the products list here is ordered by averaging each entry's five explicit numbered stain placements, which is consistent with, but not identical to, whatever full chart the narrator references but does not read aloud for the remaining ten entries.

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