During the horrible heat wave last weekend, I shared a grape popsicle with my one-year old daughter. Not one drip landed on her and I was feeling pretty proud of myself until I realized melted grape popsicle was all over my most favourite mint J. Crew shorts. They are from two years ago and unavailable in stores or online, so of course a replacement pair was out of the question. I tried absolutely everything to try and get the stain out. EVERYTHING. I soaked. I pretreated. I scrubbed. I washed. And washed again. I tried all my stain remover products and the only thing that worked marginally well was The Laundress Stain Solution. But it only faded the stain somewhat--it didn't remove it completely. I was ready to give up and throw away my most favourite mint J. Crew shorts until as a Hail Mary, I decided to try The Laundress All-Purpose Bleach Alternative. I received it today and within two hours, the stains are COMPLETELY GONE. Not faded, completely gone. As though it never happened! It took a bit of elbow grease and patience, but honestly I was not giving up. My shorts were dry, so I soaked them in hot water. Then I applied the bleach alternative, then added some stain solution and scrubbed to a paste with the laundry brush. I scrubbed for probably 20 minutes and there was a HUGE improvement. The stains weren't completely gone, but about 90% of the way. I left a thick paste of the bleach alternative, stain solution and hot water on the stains for about 30 mins, scrubbed again and rinsed. I think soaking the stains in the paste is key because that's what removed the last 10% of the stain. I am so unbelievably thrilled because I thought there was no way these shorts could be saved.
Initially, I was put off a little bit by the cost of The Laundress products. It did seem like a lot for laundry detergent, especially when you can pick up a huge box for $10 at the grocery store. But I can tell you from personal experience, the cost is so worth it. If The Laundress can save even one piece of clothing that I thought was forever stained, it's worth it.
I also totally recommend The Laundress laundry brush and Stain Solution. The brush is sturdy enough to really scrub but soft enough it didn't damage the fabric. Prior to the grape popsicle incident, the Stain Solution removed every stain I threw at it--tomato sauce, old sweat stains, baby food (which is remarkably hard to get out), etc. So I was surprised it didn't remove grape popsicle.
Key to removing stains--never EVER put in the dryer. You will cook the stains in.
I didn't receive any compensation for my review--just words from someone so happy her favourite shorts will live to see another day!
- Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 0.5 x 6 inches ; 12 ounces
- Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Domestic Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
- International Shipping: This item is not eligible for international shipping. Learn More
- ASIN: B003FUN8ME
- UPC: 859675001863
- California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
- Item model number: H-01
- Customer Reviews: 255 customer ratings
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#7,989 in Health & Household (See Top 100 in Health & Household)
- #1784 in Sales & Deals
- #11 in Laundry Bleach
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