Stains are inevitable, especially when you have kids like Paul Michael over at WiseBread. Even if you don’t have kids, stains creep up all over the place, and stain remover that actually works can be hard to find and expensive. However, it turns out we don’t even need to go to the grocery store to find the most effective and least expensive stain removers. Most ingredients that we need to make our own cleaning products are right in our very own homes.

Paul has scoured the web and done extensive research on the topic of homemade stain removal. His results were both surprising and extremely helpful. He personally tested 5 of the following 6 stain removers (the 6th was tested by his friend) and also posted videos to show others’ results of each test.

Here are the 6 homemade stain removers:

1. Mayo and Cigarette Ash – Works to Eliminate Water Stains: Paul (and I) definitely don’t recommend smoking just to get rid of a stain. But if you have cigarette ashes readily available, this little tip definitely works wonders.
2. Alka Seltzer – Acts as a Rust Remover: rust isn’t technically a stain, but it is an annoying thing that is rarely possible to remove. Now you can just add a little alka seltzer to warm water and watch the magic happen.
3. An Iron, Ammonia, Water and 2 Absorbent Cloths – Makes a Carpet Steam-Cleaner: no need to buy a SpotBot. This trick works wonders on stains like wine, cola and juice.
4. White Wine – Counteracts Red Wine Stains: this is an old urban legend that turned out to be true.
5. Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide – Acts as a Tooth Whitener: make sure you follow the directions in the video, don’t swallow and don’t keep on teeth for longer than 20 minutes. However, having followed these guidelines, there is no need to get Zoom whitening or buy expensive whitening toothpastes.
6. Baking Soda – Kills Facial Stains, Like Acne: you don’t have to purchase professional acne treatment products. You can create an acne face mask with just water and baking soda.

Head over to 6 Secret Homemade Stain Removers That Kick Butt for instructional videos and more information on these easy and creative stain removers.