This Stain Remover Has More than 12,000 Five-Star Reviews on Amazon — And It Costs Less than $1!

Lisa Freedman
Lisa FreedmanExecutive Lifestyle Director
Lisa Freedman is the Executive Lifestyle Director at The Kitchn. She has never met a cheese or a washi tape she didn't like. She lives in New York state with her husband and their pup, Millie.
published Nov 23, 2020
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Credit: Brittany Purlee

Specialty stain removers can cost a pretty penny. Like, 2,000 pretty pennies for a small bottle! And they’re not always sure to work. So when we came across the reviews for Fels-Naptha, we were stopped in our tracks. We’d heard of the stuff before but never really paid attention to it. Turns out, it’s the single bestselling stain remover on all of Amazon, with more than 12,000 five-star reviews. And a bar costs just 97 pennies!

Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

What exactly is Fels-Naptha? Let’s back up. It’s a laundry bar that’s meant to be rubbed onto clothing or grated directly into a washing machine (like Parmesan cheese for your soiled shirts!). It’s been around for more than 100 years and is known for being able to remove sweat stains (plus other bodily stains), grass stains, grease, oil, and more. Of course, it’s also very handy when it comes to fighting food stains. And again, a bar costs less than $1 (or $2 at the most). We just bought a few bars to test for an official review post, but in the meantime, let’s see what some satisfied shoppers have to say.

Buy: Fels-Naptha, $0.97

“I have two kids and they have DESTROYED my white fabric dining chairs especially since they have been home for months due to quarantine. I had honestly given up on trying to stop them from ruining the chairs further — it was a lost cause. The chairs had stains of chocolate ice cream, pasta sauce, oil, mystery marks from science projects, etc! I gave this a shot because I saw it on TikTok and it was less than a dollar so why not? I used a kitchen towel and got it wet and drained out most of the water and rubbed the soap on the towel to make foam (lots of foam). I then scrubbed the chair for less than five minutes each and when they dried, they were completely clean and stain free. I am so amazed. I wish I had taken a before picture but I did not expect it to work so well.”

“It’s the most incredible stain remover I’ve ever used and it’s rarely known of and dirt cheap! My fiancé and I bought a beautiful used couch, but it had a huge stain on it from pizza grease. The previous owner told us she had tried everything to get it out but nothing worked. I found this and the stain came out and the couch looked brand spanking new. I love using it in my laundry for an extra boost of stain removal on my clothes. You shave the bar into the load while the water is pouring into the wash. It’s convenient and it works every time. It even cleaned up bbq sauce that I accidentally dropped on the carpet.”

“What is this witchcraft!? Why have I not known about this stuff my whole life?! I am a girl who spills grease on my shirts and insists on having white sheets and then eating in bed. But those sins have been forgiven, thanks to the power of whatever the heck this stuff is made of. Grease stains! Old grease stains that had been washed and dried several times. On bright red cotton! Gone! Color stayed flawless. I did scrub it into the stains pretty aggressively, so it takes more effort than your average spray and wash stain remover. I have no idea what this is made of, and I don’t care. Could be unicorn blood and I would not care. It works and I am never buying over priced stain removers again. Everyone, buy this. Seriously, the cheapest and best decision of your life.”

Have you used Fels-Naptha? What’d you think?