Testing this product involved the most methodical of my comparisons. I stained a carpet remnant with fruit juice, Worcester sauce, spaghetti sauce, yellow mustard and coffee, and let them set for a good long time. Tested against Restore Spot Remover were two chemical-based consumer products which are well-known brand names and could probably be considered among the top products in their category. We’ll call them Brand A (which said it included “stain protector”) and Brand B (which claimed triple action). Each stain remover was applied to each of the stains twice, and each application was rated on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest score. None of them got 100% of the stains out (the staining agents I chose are particularly tough to remove, especially mustard). The composite final scores were:

 

review continues below ↓

 

Fruit juice:
Restore	6
Product A	6
Product B	6
Worcester sauce:
Restore	8.5
Product A	9
Product B	9.5
Spaghetti sauce:
Restore	5
Product A	5
Product B	5.5
Mustard:
Restore	5
Product A	5
Product B	5
Coffee:
Restore	6
Product A	5.5
Product B	7.5

 

Thus, the conclusion was that Restore performed very well on these organic stains (its forte). Overall, Restore matched one of the two chemical solvents and slightly lagged the other.

Restore’s corporate tagline is “Restoring the planet one bottle at a time.” The big story here is that in a time when ingredient labels should be scrutinized more closely by all of us, the formulations of all Restore products consist of natural, non-toxic ingredients rather than the harsh chemicals that go into many cleaning products.

Restore’s ingenious “Refill Stations” are popping up at stores like Whole Foods, Cub and Festival Foods in Minnesota and expanding into Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Iowa. These machines read the barcode on the original container and automatically fill it with the correct amount of the desired product. It’s a win-win for the consumer, the company and the environment: shoppers get a $1 “instant coupon” to save on their refill by using the original spray bottle or plastic jug, Restore saves on distribution and packaging, used containers don’t go into landfills and toxic substances stay out of the air and water.

Make no mistake: with price and performance being roughly equal (which they are), I’d prefer to clean the house with products that are safer for me, my loved ones and the planet.

 

 

Pricing:
Restore Enz Away Spot & Stain Remover	22 oz.	$4.75
Restore Enz Away Spot & Stain Remover	64 oz. refill	$9.99
Product A	22 oz.	$4.59
Product B	22 oz.	$5.19

About Tom McNulty, author of Clean Like a Man

Tom McNulty is the author of Clean Like a Man — Housekeeping for Men (and the Women Who Love Them). It’s filled with dozens of tips, tricks and MANdatory advice to streamline housecleaning. Published by Random House/Three Rivers Press, available in bookstores and on Amazon.com. Visit www.cleanlikeaman.com for even more manly cleaning advice.