We Talk Shop

I was skeptical of this product at first, but really like it now that I’ve used it. I have a problem, sometimes, with mix colors in the laundry. I’ve pulled out new shirts that have purple stains on them because I washed something read with something blue. I thought all dark colors can go together.

So, to save my sanity and not have to wash 10,000 loads of laundry every week, I purchased the Shout Color Catchers. They look like dryer sheets, but they go in the washer. As your clothes are washing, and those mystery colors are floating around in the water just waiting to cling to the wrong garment, the Color Catchers absorb the color from the water.

When you move your clothes to the dryer the Catcher sheet will not be white. It will turn whatever color it picked up from the water. Now, sometimes I find that there is nothing on the sheet, but other times it is red or purple. Sometimes blue. It’s always a faint color, but there is ink on the sheet. Ink that I suppose would have ended up on my husbands new colored shirt I just bought for him. This sheet saves me a lot of worry. I still sort my clothes, but if I’m in doubt, I toss a sheet in for extra assurance. It’s been working so far. The only downside to the sheets is the price. It’s about $5.00 for a box of $24. It’s not outrageous, but not cheap either.

Get it: Most stores, in the laundry aisle.

I was ready to give this product a higher rating until a day later I noticed the spot that I had cleaned on my wool-pile rug was discolored. It’s only a shade or so lighter, the rug is not ruined, but I certainly won’t be trying this product on any other wool materials. On the bright side, there’s not a hint that there was ever a stain on the rug.

I was surprised; I’ve been using Woolite products for years and growing up my mom used them as well. And I’ve used the Oxy Deep spray solution on another item with glowing results.

The P.O.D. itself is portable, easy to use, and made cleaning my pet’s mess easier and quicker. It’s an all-in-one solution to cleaning up stains. I plan to dump the Oxy Deep solution and use another product.

Skip it: If you want to try this product yourself, test it on a small area first. You can find it as your local grocery store in the cleaning/detergent aisle.

I’ve been on a hunt for a polo I liked since accidentally making a hole in my previous one (will save that story for another product review) and yesterday I found it in the clearance section of my favorite Gap Outlet. There was only one in all the section and frequent with scouring clearance racks, this coveted polo had a stain of unknown origin, although it looked like marker. Fortunate for me my mom works at Publix and likes to bring me new products to try when she comes to visit. This time she brought Zout.

That’s right, Zout, not Shout. Apparently Zout has been around since the ’60s in use in hospitals. It made its way into the household market and has a new spray bottle on the shelves, which I used. Zout creators claim it works on set-in stains and penetrates into the fiber, lifting the stain out from the inside. They don’t lie.

Even before I put my shirt in the wash, the stain was lifting. After washing, the stain was completely gone - see for yourself below. Thinking I may have now have to put this product to the test on the remaining spots of my futon cover.

Recently I was walking down the stairs to the cafeteria at work and shopgirl_alicia noticed a yellowish stain on my new shirt. I gave Zout a second try and it did not disappoint.

OK, thanks Shopgirltanya for handing me the Tide to go pen after reading my last post — I used it on my ink stain that’s on my white shirt today. It did get most of the ink out of the shirt, but has left a water stain effect in place of the ink. I’ll wash it when I get home and hopefully it will come out all the way. Worthy of a second trial I’d say.

This is a question for you all — what is the best product to get out an ink stain? And, what do you all use the Clorox pen for? This particular ink stain in on a white blouse — the one I am wearing today so I’m thinking of trying the Clorox pen, but have doubts that it will work. Advice appreciated.

Recently a friend of my dad’s gave me a futon chair (styled similar to Ikea’s Poang). Apparently it had been sitting in the deep recesses of their warehouse because the twill-like cushion was covered with light yellow spots. I don’t know what that yellow was, nor do I want to know, as I fear it could be some sort of insect droppings, but let’s not go there. My initial instinct was to hand the cushion over to dad to use as a new pet bed, but after researching the cost of replacing the cushion cover and/or cushion, I decided to try whatever household cleaning products I had to remove the stains. In my arsenal I found Woolite Oxy Deep Spot & Stain Carpet Cleaner. Completely ignoring the fact it was intended for carpet, I doused what little was left in the bottle on to the cushion and washed it on heavy-duty cycle. After the first wash, most of those unspeakable stains were gone.

I did my latest oxyclean test today — Blood Stain on a pair of nice slacks. The stains were right where they could be seen, on the thigh area. So, I put some oxyclean in my hands and wet it just enough so that I could smear it into the pants. Then, I let them sit in it overnight. And, guess what the results were … drumroll please … it came out. Yes it did. And I have to admit, that I let the stain sit for two weeks before I tried to get it out. Now, I also have to admit that I don’t think I was going to mention that part if my experiment didn’t work, but oxyclean is amazing so I’m not suprised it came out. Pants are as good as new.