Zout – Laundry Stain Remover
My doubt evaporated after my husband and I hosted a holiday dinner party. The food was eaten and the wine was flowing, literally, all over my light green couch cover. My friend, Darla, while talking with her hands, knocked over a full glass of red wine all over the living room. The Zout directions said to spray completely covering the stain and to rub it in! Rub it in!? That is always what you are told not to do when it comes to a fabric stain because you will rub the stain deeper into the fabric. But we gave it a try. The directions suggest waiting one to five minutes and then actually launder the item in very warm water. Since we don’t have a washer and dryer in our apartment, we threw the couch cover into the bathroom sink, and ran warm water. Since the directions had stated to rub the Zout into the fabric, we rubbed the stained areas, soaked with Zout, together. As we watched the red wine slowly came out of the fabric. Within roughly 3-5 minutes of soaking, all the wine was completely gone.
We also tried some Zout on the white wall that was stained when the glass went sprawling. Water had taken out most of the wine, but left behind a pink residue. I sprayed some Zout directly on the wall. Not only did the pink residue quickly fade, but the wall itself became whiter than before.
We used it numerous times on various stains. When friends came for dessert one night, and a fat slice of blueberry/blackberry cheesecake was dropped on the light colored rug, we Zouted the stain like mad. For that particular stain we used Zout Liquid, which is a more concentrate than the spray version. Even though its stronger, it is water based, and doesn’t contain bleach or chlorine, which would change the color of the fabric. Keep in mind, Zout Liquid is not recommended for use on: Leather, Cashmere or Silk.
You may even use Zout, Laundry Stain Remover, to whiten your white laundry and brighten colored laundry. Simply take an eighth of a cup of Zout and add it to your detergent. Keep in mind, this cleaning product is not recommended for silk.
I checked out the Zout website, which actually was pretty cool. In addition to various products, they have a “Laundry Basics” for people who are doing their own laundry for the first time, and even a “Stain Guide.” The “Stain Guide” allows you to choose a stain, i.e. grape juice, chocolate, etc. Then you choose the type of fabric the stain is on. The “Stain Guide” then gives you the solution that may work best for your stain.
We always keep a bottle of Zout on hand, espcially when Darla is coming over.
