Testers put "Deo-Go" stain remover to work

SAN FRANCISCO

The product is called Deo-Go, and the label says it completely removes even the most-stubborn underarm stains, restoring the garment's original appearance.

Tanya White, Kim Carmichael and Archie Kay see the underarm stain problems every day.

"Your deodorant leaves a sort of a yellowish stain," White said. "After a while, that doesn't seem to be able to come out."

Carmichael said they're embarrassing, adding "You don't want to walk around with deodorant stains."

"If there is a product that removes this completely...that would be a miracle," said Kay.

We wanted to find out if the Deo-Go is that miracle, so we asked White and Kay to give it a try, while Carmichael agreed to try a home-made remedy we found on the internet.

Kay sprayed Deo-Go on three shirts. Kay gave it an 80 percent change to get the stain out of one white blouse, and said a stain on one men's shirt is unlikely to ever come out.

Kay placed the three shirts into the wash after applying Deo-Go. After the wash, Kay said it worked as well as could be expected: The blouse removed some of the stain, but not all of it. The yellow stain on the men's shirt turned into a 'dingy white' and the third shirt -- which Kay said might need to be thrown out -- didn't show any improvement at all.

Meanwhile, White began scrubbing Deo-Go in into the shirt with a toothbrush. After taking a blow dryer to the garment, Tanya said, "I think it looks like it worked. I mean, I don't see it anymore."

Carmichael begins mixing the home-made solution -- a quarter-cup of ammonia with four cups of water -- back at her home. Carmichael hopes this works better than what she normally does.

"I normally just rub my shirt together, and I mean, it's still there," Carmichael said.

After giving the shirt a good scrub, Carmichael notices a change.

"As soon as I get the solution on there, it's making a huge difference," Carmichael said. "As soon as I rub it over, even just lightly, it's pretty much making the stain disappear."

Both White and Carmichael said they would be reluctant to use any product that took 20 minutes to dry, but Deo-Go -- which costs about $10 -- says the 20 minute wait time is a reasonable trade off from saving a blouse or shirt from being thrown away.

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