TikTok Convinced Us Miss Mouth's Stain Treater Is Magic. What We Discovered Was A Little Funky

There's nothing worse than tackling a seemingly endless pile of laundry, especially when one of your favorite shirts has a giant stain on it. From sweat to spaghetti sauce, determining how to get out the toughest laundry stains can be a serious challenge. My grandma's go-to remedies included cornstarch, baking soda, even lemon wedges. While those kitchen staples can be effective on certain stains, it's not terribly convenient to whip up a gritty paste or slice some citrus in the middle of trying to conquer my family's dirty laundry pile. But is there a laundry stain remover out there that's just as inexpensive, easy to use, and truly effective?

TikTok users are raving about Miss Mouth's Messy Eater Stain Treater. Several described the spray as being magical while demonstrating how it instantly removes a variety of stains, from berries to hot sauce. Almost 50,000 Amazon reviewers have given the stain removing product five stars, many claiming that fresh stains disappear almost immediately after the spray is applied. Miss Mouth's says the product is commercial grade, biodegradable, and works on both new and set-in stains. Reviews praise the product for working just as well on canvas shoes stained with barbecue sauce as it does on carpets and upholstery. The hype around this viral product made me curious, so I decided to test it for myself on the dirtiest laundry I could find.

To begin my test, I sorted through a mountain of laundry to find several items with everyday stains. I didn't have to look hard to find a pair of jeans with dirt and grass stains from the garden, a white linen shirt with red wine spilled down the front, and a dark green sweatshirt with an unknown splotch. To make sure I tested this product on a variety of new and existing stains, I also grabbed a pair of dingy canvas sneakers that had long taken up residence in the back of a closet. Unsure of whether the spray would perform as promised, I didn't pick any of my favorite items for testing. If you are looking to try this stain remover for yourself, remember to always do a spot test in an inconspicuous place first.

I used about half of the small bottle to liberally saturate each of the stains, which immediately raised some questions about the cost effectiveness of this product. Regularly priced at $10 for 4 ounces, I couldn't help but think about how many bottles those soccer moms out there would need in order to get dirty uniforms sparkling again. And it didn't take long before my small laundry room started to smell ... weird. Despite the label saying this stain remover is free of chlorine, formaldehyde, perfumes, or dyes, the odor was pretty acrid. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever smelled, but I'm not so sure you should use this as an on-the-go spot treatment while you're out and about, either.

After rubbing the spray into each stain, I followed the manufacturer's instructions to launder or clean it as I normally would. When it comes to stain removal, it's important to get your laundry water temperatures right, and since I was working with cotton fabrics, I ran gentle cycles using cold water. A single Original Scent Tide Pod was added to each small load, but I skipped using any fabric softener or dryer sheets so they wouldn't interfere with my results. Although it recently made House Digest's list of washing machine brands to avoid, I am extremely fond of the trusty Whirlpool washer and dryer I used during my test. I always use the lowest heat setting on automatic dry to save on energy costs.

The canvas shoes were a little trickier than the clothes. To see if the spray makes any difference beyond a normal wash, I only covered one shoe with the stain treater. Converse recommends hand scrubbing its shoes to clean them, but I've been chucking my Chucks in the washing machine since I was in high school without any issues. After letting the product soak into the left shoe's canvas while I washed the clothes, I tossed the pair into the washing machine, laces and all. After the first wash cycle, both shoes still looked greyish. Miss Mouth's suggests repeating the treatment if necessary, so I resoaked the left shoe, let it sit for 15 minutes, then ran another wash cycle.

This tiny little bottle promised to pack a major punch when it came to stains, but I wasn't totally convinced by the results. The jeans did come out sparkling, with no signs of the grass or dirt stains I treated. Those stains were practically brand new and hadn't had much time to set into the fabric, conditions which seem to be the sweet spot for this stain-treating product. It also pleasantly surprised me by completely eliminating the unknown stain on my old sweatshirt. But, although the spray significantly lightened the wine stains on the linen shirt, which had been allowed to dry and sit inside a laundry basket for longer than I care to admit, I could still see very light purple spots that didn't come out even with a second application and wash. The product made no discernible difference whatsoever between the white canvas shoes, which still looked extremely dingy after multiple treatments and washes. 

If you're constantly battling small stains after spending time in the kitchen or garden, and you're the kind of person who deals with grimy clothes right away, Miss Mouth's Messy Eater Stain Treater might be worth a try. Unlike bleach pens, I appreciate that the product is made of nontoxic ingredients. The packaging is cute and the spray nozzle was easy to pump. But at nearly $2 per ounce compared to just pennies per load for other top-rated stain removers on the market, overall I think both the smell and the price tag are overwhelming.