The Best Stain Removers to Treat Tricky Messes Wherever You Are

Shout's concentrated all-purpose stain remover gets rave reviews from users who say that it lifts stains of all types, both new and set-in. Some even suggest decanting some of it into a small spray bottle, so that you can have it everywhere you go! 

To use, spray it on the affected area, and make sure to let it thoroughly soak in before rinsing it with water or laundering.

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White vinegar is one of those household products that seems to do everything. As a stain remover, it can help remove anything from mud to grease to coffee from clothes and upholstery, usually when diluted with water first.

If your deodorant or antiperspirant tends to leave dark marks on your clothes, we've also found that pre-treating this stain by dabbing the area in white vinegar can help lift it.

Life can get messy, and it's not always realistic to drop what you're doing to go run your dirty clothes in the laundry. OxiClean's Gel Stick is a pre-treating stick that tackles tricky stains like blood, oil, ink, and grass, letting you swipe it on for up to 7 days before you actually get around to washing the garment in question.

This stain remover needs no introduction. At roughly the size of a pen, Tide To Go is one of the most portable stain-busting products on the market. It's adept at eliminating small, fresh stains, as opposed to those that have set in for a while.

Wine lovers and frequent party hosts, here is one to stock up on! The Chateau Spill Red Wine Stain Remover contains 100% biodegradable surfactants, and it effectively lifts red wine stains, even out of light-colored clothing and furniture. 

And as our managing editor Scott Simone can attest, it may also be a good pick to keep at the office, as well!

When you're at work and you suffer a coffee or salad-dressing spill, and no one happens to have a detergent pen or stain stick handy, reaching for the squeeze bottle of Dawn is your stain-removal solution in a pinch. Working best on fresh stains instead of those that are old and set-in, Dawn effectively dissolves grease and helps to lift out discoloring dark marks on light clothes.

It is frequently used in combination with hydrogen peroxide for an added stain-fighting boost, but this method should only be used on white clothes, as the hydrogen peroxide can lighten dark fabrics.

If you're frequently laundering muddy sports uniforms, dingy sofa slipcovers, or spaghetti-splattered baby clothes, opt for a laundry detergent with a little more stain-removing muscle. 

Consumer Reports touts this pick from Persil as being both a good stain pre-treating agent, as well as an exceptionally great laundry detergent for stained loads.

Pet owners with wall-to-wall carpeting, we feel for you. Luckily, Carbona's 2-in-1 Pet Stain & Odor Remover exists. Users love that this formula lifts fresh stains and also effectively lightens (or can even entirely eliminate!) set-in carpet stains.

While the bottle's included brush is a great tool to use for distributing the product through your carpet fibers, reviewers also suggest using it in combination with a vacuum power brush. The "clean-carpet" scent is also touted as a major plus!

If buying an entire bottle of bleach seems like overkill for lifting a small ink stain on your favorite white shirt, get the Clorox bleach pens instead. Once you're done wearing the garment, apply a little bit of bleach to the stain, and then let it soak in. Afterwards, you can throw it in the laundry with a load of white clothes and it should be good as new.

These pens contain the same Clorox bleach as the regular bottle, so you can use these pens around the house to remove grout and mildew stains as well!