I am usually pretty skeptical when it comes to those ‘As Seen On TV’ products. I look at them and ask myself how they could possibly work or see that they are a huge waste of money, whereas the DH wants every one of them because the 2 minute spot has convinced him that he can’t live without them. Lo and behold, sometimes the DH is right! I’ve branched out a bit since my first experience in 1999 and have tried a few of the other TV products with varying results.
My first experience was buying OxiClean back in 1999 or so, when you could only get it through the phone or web.
Our oldest has some of his most serious asthma attacks while we were living in Hawaii and we were doing a major overhaul with mattress covers, allergen reducing pillowcases, HEPA filtered vacuum and less harsh cleaning products. With the urging of the DH, I was ready to try anything and he really wanted the OxiClean and Orange Clean. We stopped using the Orange Clean after the first bottle because it left a bit of a greasy film which was kinda icky. I think that they have reformulated but we haven’t tried it since.
The OxiClean was a lifesaver and I don’t think we’ve been without it since. It worked wonders on stains and minimized the amount of detergent used in the laundry. In such a humid environment, we had issues with mold. Since mold is a major trigger for most people with asthma and allergies, we tackled it as soon as it was noticed. We still used bleach to take care of the mold but we used OxiClean to remove the staining left behind. It was also extremely helpful in cleaning the grout. Make up a nice paste, leave it to sit for a bit and a quick wipe and rinse took care of anything in the crevices. It was a complete lifesaver when it came to removing the stains a 5 year old can’t help but cause. I had a neighbor with a baby girl who would bring clothes to my house whenever there was a glass of spilled milk or whatnot. I finally convinced her to buy her own and we converted quite a few neighbors!
A big thing with me was, and still is, oil stains. It doesn’t matter if I am spraying a baking pan or making lotion, I will invariably spill some of the oil on my shirt or jeans. I simply mix up a strong solution, work it into the fibers and let it soak for awhile. I have never had a problem with color fading or bleaching effects but I have only used it on cotton and denim materials. We no longer use it to boost the detergent but we always have it on hand for stain removal.
There are actually many uses for OxiClean, not just stain removal on clothing. For instance, mix up a batch in one of your plastic storage bowls that has had tomato sauce in it to remove the stain.
It also works well on pet stains on the carpet. I actually have a different technique utilizing peroxide that I use for cat stains due to the high ammonia content but OxiClean has worked well on areas where I didn’t want the bleaching effect.
Having young kids in the home has also increased the chances of finding gum on various items of clothing. After removing the gum, OxiClean has been successful at removing the dried in oily stain left behind.
Lastly, I would like to note that I have had no success using OxiClean to remove grass stains. I find grass stains in jeans on pretty much a daily basis in the summer and no concentration or amount of waiting has removed them using OxiClean.
Do you have a unique use for OxiClean? Where have you had success?