NBC Select Includes Trisha Andrew on Panel of Experts to Select the Best Stain Removers

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Whether we're washing clothes at home or in our UMass dorms, we all know that stains can be stubborn, often surviving a regular wash cycle and leaving our clothes looking less than perfect. That’s where a quality laundry stain remover comes in.

But there are many options on the market, and finding one that does what it advertises can feel overwhelming. To simplify the search, NBC Select, an "editorially independent...team of editors and writers [who] work hard to pick the best products to share with [their] readers and viewers," consulted a variety of experts—including Trisha Andrew, a professor in the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Chemistry—to uncover what makes a stain remover effective and how these products work.

In the article, Andrew summarizes the chemical process behind stain removers:

"Stain removers use chemicals and cleaning agents to break down and remove stains from fabric fibers in clothing. Essentially, they help convince the molecule that’s causing the stain to lift off the fabric and make the water more attractive than the fabric itself, says Trisha Andrew, professor in chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. When they’re used correctly, they can be effective at removing a wide range of stains, even difficult ones like blood or red wine."

— NBC Select

Click here to learn more about the panel of experts and to see which products they selected.