Is Stain-Removal Spray Necessary When You're Already Using Laundry Detergent?

Between detergent, bleach, fabric softener, and a myriad of other laundry products, it's not hard to end up with a surprisingly crowded laundry room. But there's one laundry product that you can probably eliminate from now on: stain removal spray. If you have a good detergent, laundry stain removers are redundant. You'll just need to take an extra step before washing your clothes to get rid of stubborn stains with detergent.

Stain remover sprays are made with many of the same cleaning ingredients as laundry detergents. These include surfactants, which penetrate fabric fibers and remove dirt and oil, and enzymes that fight specific types of stains like blood or chocolate. However, the two products are made with different formulas. Stain remover sprays come in a ready-to-use liquid spray that's highly concentrated and meant to be sprayed directly onto stains for a short amount of time. Detergents are thicker and designed to mix with water in the washing machine, so their stain-fighting power is diluted.

Throwing your stained items in the washer with detergent may not do the trick. But apply some of the detergent directly to the stain before washing it, it can get out the toughest laundry stains, rivaling or even surpassing stain remover sprays. If you already have laundry detergent on hand, give this a try before you buy any new products.

Using laundry detergent as a substitute for stain remover is easy. To pre-treat your stains, first blot the excess. (Avoid rubbing or you may worsen things.) Rinse the stain with cold water. Then apply a bit of detergent onto the stain and let it sit for about five minutes. Wash and dry as usual.

This method works well for most common stains, like dirt and oil. But there are a few specific stains that a stain remover spray will be better equipped to tackle. Some stain remover sprays contain a solvent like alcohol or acetone to treat stains such as paint or polish, which are not as responsive to the ingredients in regular detergent. Some contain solvents to dissolve adhesives. Others have whitening agents like chlorine bleach, oxygen bleach, or hydrogen peroxide, which can be helpful for lightening stains whether in a detergent or stain remover spray. When in doubt, it can't hurt to give the laundry detergent method a try and then move on to something else if it doesn't work.