I Tried 5 Stain Removers to Remove Baby Poop and Chocolate — These Are the Only Two I’ll Buy Again

I have bought more stain removers in my four and a half years as a parent than I did my entire life before becoming a parent. From the day babies are born, they start making adorable little messes. As kids grow, the messes aren’t always quite so cute, and they usually get bigger along with the kids. Among the many things on parents’ resumes, stain remover extraordinaire should be at the top of the list. 

I’ve tried a few different brands over the years, but I’ve always wondered if there was something better out there. So, I tested five different stain removers against five common stains. 

I tested:

• Amodex Ink and Stain Remover
• Tide To Go Instant Stain Remover Liquid Pen
• Puracy Natural Laundry Stain Remover
• Zote Laundry Soap Bar 
• Miss Mouth’s Messy Eater Stain Treater 

To see how the stain removers did against common household stains, I purposely stained an old white crib sheet with baby poop (yes, I went there), ketchup, chocolate, coffee, and mud. All of the stain removers did a decent job getting most of the stains out, while the mud was the hardest stain to get out; none of the stain removers got it out completely. However, I was most impressed with two stain removers, Puracy and Miss Mouth’s, and they’re the only ones I’ll buy again. Here’s why:

Puracy was easy to use: simply sprain the stain, let it sit, then run it through the wash. In fact, the instructions say that the longer the stain remover sits on the stain, the better. If you tend to forget about dirty laundry and let it sit in the hamper or laundry room like me, this will actually work to your advantage. I’ve also thrown clothes right in the wash without letting the stain sit, and it still worked really well. 

Puracy has been my go-to stain remover for a couple of years now, so I wasn’t surprised that it successfully removed most of the stains. It comes in a large 16-ounce bottle or 48-ounce refill, so you won’t need to buy a new one every few weeks. Puracy got out every stain except for mud and chocolate, and even those stains were barely visible. With another spray and run through the wash, or with longer time to sit on the stain, it probably would been successful in removing these stains, too!

I’ve heard a lot about Hate Stain Co.’s Miss Mouth’s lately, so I was excited to give it a try. Thankfully, it lived up to the hype. Its stain-removing power was very similar to Puracy’s; Miss Mouth’s removed everything except a little bit of the mud and chocolate. It’s another one that’s easy to use: spray the stain then wash as usual. 

Miss Mouth’s comes in smaller four-ounce bottles, which can be a pro or a con. You’ll probably be buying refills of this one a lot, which isn’t ideal. However, the smaller bottle makes it easy to travel with. I recently took Miss Mouth’s on a road trip, and it got soy sauce out of my daughter’s dress even after the stain sat for over 24 hours before being treated. Smaller bottles also make it feasible to have bottles in multiple locations in your house: the laundry room, your child’s closet (out of reach, of course), and the kitchen, for example. 

The other stain removers did a decent job, but I wouldn’t buy them again. Overall, they didn’t do quite as well at getting the stains out, and their application wasn’t as simple as just spraying the stain. 

The Tide Pen got as many stains out as Puracy and Amodex, but the pen is a bit cumbersome to use for regular stain treating. It is, however, an excellent option to have on hand in your car or diaper bag, or for your teen to use on their white shoes!

Zote and Amodex did the worst job of removing stains, and they also have downsides in their application. To properly use Amodex, you need to rub the solution in with a brush, which isn’t provided. It can be a bit tough to rub the Zote bar into the stains, and you’ll need to find somewhere to store the bar once you have the package opened. 

In a pinch, these stain treaters will do, but they won’t be my go-to choice going forward. 

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