What’s a stain remover, anyway? Laundry detergent in a spray bottle? Consumer Reports ran lab tests to find out. Our results found that the best laundry stain remover, the OxiClean MaxForce, gets rid of stains better than everyday liquid detergent.
The other five spray-on laundry stain removers we tested—from Shout, Spray n’ Wash, and OxiClean (a different formula from the MaxForce)—couldn’t match the best liquid detergents from our ratings for getting rid of the eight stains we treat.
“Prewash stain removers are concentrated and designed to go directly on the stains," says Rich Handel, CR’s chemist who oversees our laundry stain removal tests. "Detergents, on the other hand, mix in with lots of water to clean, and the water dilutes the stain-removing power. But if you apply a dab of detergent to the stain before washing and let it sit, the detergent alone can remove stains.”
That’s just what we did with the two detergents we included in our tests. The Tide Plus Ultra Stain Release and Persil ProClean Stain Fighter detergents we used to pretreat stains came close enough to the cleaning power of the OxiClean MaxForce that some people might want to use these detergents to both pretreat stains and wash their laundry.
Here’s how five laundry stain removers from our tests stack up against the top-performing OxiClean MaxForce. You’ll also find details on how the Tide and Persil detergents handle stains. The prices listed below are per bottle (some might be for a multipack).
For detailed test results, see our laundry stain remover ratings. And for tips and tricks on how to tackle spills and spots on clothes and furniture, check out our ultimate stain-removal guide.
