The other week I did some washing and when I got it out after the cycle had finished I was not best pleased with it. Now I admit to being a bit on the messy side but usually I pop my washing on a 40c or 60c wash and use a good detergent and fabric softener and I am happy. However the wash I am talking about was really rather dirty! I had curry stains all down my brand new white and floral duvet set (I hadn't even paid for when I did it as it was from a catlaogue lol) and had blood all down a cream top from where my monster of a female with pmt hamster bit me really badly! Add to that grubby towels and pillow protectors and the stains in the main remained.

I know that I am not overly keen on Vanish products and never had very great results with them and to be fair that applies to alot of stain removing products that I have ever tried. It was actually my friends mum that suggested trying this as its her favoured stain removing product and I trust her opinion and so I went to Asda (it is widely available in goo supermarkets and so on) at about £1.99 a bar.

The Packaging:

The bar comes in a bright pink carboard box and on the front of it we are told that it is Vanish Stain Remover Pre-Wash Bar and theres a diagramn of someone using it then on the back of the box we are told a little bit about the product and how to use it for the best results possible, cautions are given, the size is stated which is 75g and contact details for the manufacturer (Reckitt Benckiser) are listed. Inside the box the bar comes on a deep white plastic tray with Vanish engraved into it which is a nice little feature in my opinion so you never get the excuse to say you got mixed up with a usual bar of soap or anything lol.

The Bar Itself:

Smallish white and an off square in shape this is ra easonably thick cream coloured bar, again with the word Vanish engraved into it. It wasn't as big as I was intially expecting it to be though does have a very pleasant and not overly powerful scent of florals to it.

On the box we are told to treat any stains as soon as we possibly can for the best results and that some stains may require more than one treatment however this may not work on some stains such as rust, dried paint or permanent ink.

To use this though is quite simple. Simply wet the stain on the fabric you wish to remove and then rub over with the bar which releases that lovely gentle fragrance I mentioned earlier and it foams up really well. Once you've given the stain a bit of elbow grease and can see the stain lifting a bit blot off excess residue with a cloth or something and then put it in the wash by itself or with all your other washing and with your usual products and onto the usual cycle you put your wash on.

This I found to be really highly effective. This did not sadly get all my chicken tikka masala stains out of my bedding but did get the smell and greasy look out of it and the stain had definetly shrunk in size and wasn't so highly visible to me anymore. The blood out of my top completely came out and was good as new looking again, the black mascara looking marks came out of my pillowcases and the pillow protecters again came up 100% restored.

Since being so pleased with the inital results I achieved with this bar I have rubbed over my socks with it, a black mark on my jeans, all before pre-washing and the only stains I have had a big problem really removing is a dark coloured curry....everything else its been really brilliant on!

All in all I do really recommend this product. A little goes a long way, the scent gets lost in the usul wash and most stains, even ones that have been on fabrics a while have been lifted but it does, like many stain removing products have its limits! For £1.99 a bar and the ease of which it is to use I will re-purchase this without hesitation in the future!

This review is also posted on Ciao under this same username.