Which Laundry Stain Removers Brand Wins?
2024 test14 productsHome & Cleaning

Which Laundry Stain Removers Brand Wins?

In our test 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
The Pink Stuff
Winner

The Pink Stuff

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

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OxiClean Spray
Runner-up

OxiClean Spray

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

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Shout
Budget pick

Shout

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

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The quick take

The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.

WinnerThe Pink Stuff$6 for 17 oz, 35 cents per ounce

the pink stuff came out on top with a 2.4

Best in 1 of 6 measurements, including Final combined score.

Runner-upOxiClean Spray$7 for 12 oz, 58 cents per ounce

Placed top three in 1 of 6 measurements.

Budget pickShout$4 for 22 oz, 18 cents per ounce

Placed top three in 1 of 6 measurements.

The measured results

Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.

Graphite oil stain ranking (1st to 14th of 14)

  • 1The Pink Stuff
    10th
  • 2OxiClean Spray
    1st
  • 3Shout
    3rd
  • 4Tide Rescue
    2nd
  • 5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)
    14th

    the worst of all fourteen entries

  • 6Spray'n Wash
    9th
  • 7De-Solv-It
    6th
  • 8OxiClean Gel Stick
    4th
  • 9Stain Rescue
    13th
  • 10Dreft
    5th
  • 11Miss Mouth's
    12th
  • 12Zout
    8th
  • 13Attitude
    11th
  • 14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)
    7th

Grape juice stain ranking

  • 1The Pink Stuff
    2nd
  • 2OxiClean Spray
    1st
  • 3Shout
    3rd
  • 4Tide Rescue
    10th
  • 5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)
    5th
  • 6Spray'n Wash
    6th
  • 7De-Solv-It
    9th
  • 8OxiClean Gel Stick
    4th
  • 9Stain Rescue
    11th
  • 10Dreft
    12th
  • 11Miss Mouth's
    8th
  • 12Zout
    13th
  • 13Attitude
    7th
  • 14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)
    14th

    the worst of all fourteen entries

Coffee stain ranking

  • 1The Pink Stuff
    1st
  • 2OxiClean Spray
    6th
  • 3Shout
    2nd
  • 4Tide Rescue
    5th
  • 5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)
    3rd
  • 6Spray'n Wash
    7th
  • 7De-Solv-It
    14th

    the worst of all fourteen entries

  • 8OxiClean Gel Stick
    11th
  • 9Stain Rescue
    4th
  • 10Dreft
    8th
  • 11Miss Mouth's
    10th

    not spoken directly but the only unassigned rank left in that stain's full 1 through 14 list, derived by elimination

  • 12Zout
    12th
  • 13Attitude
    9th
  • 14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)
    13th

Mustard stain ranking

  • 1The Pink Stuff
    1st
  • 2OxiClean Spray
    6th
  • 3Shout
    8th
  • 4Tide Rescue
    4th
  • 5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)
    5th
  • 6Spray'n Wash
    7th
  • 7De-Solv-It
    3rd
  • 8OxiClean Gel Stick
    10th
  • 9Stain Rescue
    9th
  • 10Dreft
    12th
  • 11Miss Mouth's
    13th
  • 12Zout
    2nd
  • 13Attitude
    11th

    not spoken directly but the only unassigned rank left in that stain's full 1 through 14 list, derived by elimination

  • 14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)
    14th

    the worst of all fourteen entries

Soy sauce stain ranking

  • 1The Pink Stuff
    4th
  • 2OxiClean Spray
    11th
  • 3Shout
    9th
  • 4Tide Rescue
    8th
  • 5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)
    2nd
  • 6Spray'n Wash
    1st

    described as a terrific job

  • 7De-Solv-It
    5th
  • 8OxiClean Gel Stick
    10th
  • 9Stain Rescue
    6th
  • 10Dreft
    7th
  • 11Miss Mouth's
    3rd
  • 12Zout
    13th
  • 13Attitude
    12th
  • 14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)
    14th

    the worst of all fourteen entries

Ketchup stain rating

  • 1The Pink Stuff

    rating of one (best possible)

  • 2OxiClean Spray

    rating of one (best possible)

  • 3Shout

    rating of two (not the best possible)

  • 4Tide Rescue

    rating of one (best possible)

  • 5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)

    rating of two (not the best possible)

  • 6Spray'n Wash

    rating of one (best possible)

  • 7De-Solv-It

    rating of one (best possible)

  • 8OxiClean Gel Stick

    rating of two (not the best possible)

  • 9Stain Rescue

    rating of one (best possible)

  • 10Dreft

    rating of one (best possible)

  • 11Miss Mouth's

    rating of two (not the best possible)

  • 12Zout

    rating of one (best possible)

  • 13Attitude

    rating of two (not the best possible)

  • 14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)

    rating of two (not the best possible)

Gear oil binary rating

  • 1The Pink Stuff

    rating of one (better than expected)

  • 2OxiClean Spray

    rating of one (better than expected)

  • 3Shout

    rating of one (better than expected)

  • 4Tide Rescue

    rating of one (better than expected)

  • 6Spray'n Wash

    rating of one (better than expected)

  • 7De-Solv-It

    rating of one (better than expected)

  • 8OxiClean Gel Stick

    rating of two (not the best possible)

  • 9Stain Rescue

    rating of one (better than expected)

  • 10Dreft

    rating of two (not the best possible)

  • 11Miss Mouth's

    rating of one (better than expected)

  • 12Zout

    rating of one (better than expected)

  • 13Attitude

    rating of two (not the best possible)

  • 14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)

    rating of two (not the best possible)

  • 5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)
    not tested

Fabric fading test

  • 1The Pink Stuff

    no fading observed

  • 2OxiClean Spray

    no fading observed

  • 3Shout

    no fading observed

  • 4Tide Rescue

    no fading observed

  • 5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)

    the only entry that caused a small amount of fading on the red test shirt

  • 6Spray'n Wash

    no fading observed

  • 7De-Solv-It

    no fading observed

  • 8OxiClean Gel Stick

    no fading observed

  • 9Stain Rescue

    no fading observed

  • 10Dreft

    no fading observed

  • 11Miss Mouth's

    no fading observed

  • 12Zout

    no fading observed

  • 13Attitude

    no fading observed

  • 14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)
    not tested
All measurements (1 more)+

Final combined score (average rating plus average finish)

  • 1The Pink Stuff
    2.4

    the best of all fourteen entries

  • 2OxiClean Spray
    3.22nd

    second best of all fourteen entries

  • 3Shout
    3.33rd

    third best of all fourteen entries

  • 4Tide Rescue
    not tested
  • 5Home brew (hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent)
    not tested
  • 6Spray'n Wash
    not tested
  • 7De-Solv-It
    not tested
  • 8OxiClean Gel Stick
    not tested
  • 9Stain Rescue
    not tested
  • 10Dreft
    not tested
  • 11Miss Mouth's
    not tested
  • 12Zout
    not tested
  • 13Attitude
    not tested
  • 14Control (Tide Pod only, no stain remover)
    not 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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