Gain Detergent Review - Great Smell And Cleans Well

by April
(Cantonment, FL, United States)

April has provided this Gain detergent review.

April says:

I have used many many different laundry detergents. Having a toddler and working primarily with children makes it key to use a good one.


Out of all the laundry detergents I have used Gain is my favorite. Gain is well priced, something that I look for when shopping.

I love the smell of Gain, not too strong, and not too weak, makes laundry smell fresh when its washed, and the scent stays on the clothing after they have been folded and hung, which is a nice surprise.

It is gentle enough to use on delicates and toddler clothing.

The best thing about it is how good it is at getting even the tough caked on stains out of clothing of all kinds. It removes all odor's and stains out of everything I have used it on.

I also used a little bit with water in the carpet cleaner, and it made the carpets smell great. I did a once over with water afterward, and the carpets smelled so much better then they do with the regular carpet cleaner.

I don't see myself changing brands anytime soon.

Gain Laundry Detergent {Referral Links}

Taylor says:

April, thanks for your Gain detergent review.

I think it is especially interesting that you used this laundry detergent for cleaning your carpets. That is an interesting homemade carpet cleaning solution.

I would love to hear other people's opinions about this detergent too. You can share your review here, or read other reviews already submitted for this product.

In addition, you can share any other laundry detergent reviews here, telling me your experience with the detergents you've used, whether good or bad.

Original Gain Liquid Caused Staining On My Clothes

by Cathy
(NC)

Cathy wrote in with a problem she's been having with the liquid detergent, which is green in color.

Cathy says:

Although I love the scent of Gain and was glad to see it come back, I have had terrible issues with staining from the green liquid.

Is there a reason why it's green?

Can the color be removed from it as an option?

What can I do to get these stains out?

I have tried everything and have not been successful with removing these stains - any suggestions?

Taylor says:

Sorry to hear you're having this trouble Cathy.

First, to diagnose why you're having this trouble in the first place with this detergent.

What are the order of steps you're using to add the detergent to your load? If you add the clothes and then the detergent you're more likely to get staining than if you add water and detergent first, and let it dilute some, before adding the clothing.

I also would love to poll the other readers -- anyone else having this problem? I have researched whether Gain has come out with a formula change recently, and have not seen any advertisement of it. However, that doesn't mean there was not a problem with a batch having too much dye added to it, or something like that.

If anyone else is experiencing such an issue, please share your experiences here so I can understand how wide-spread (or not) this issue is.

Cathy, I would definitely encourage you to call Procter & Gamble (the manufacturers of this laundry soap) to complain about this issue. They may have more guidance for you. The customer service number is: 1-800-888-4246.

Now, for your other laundry question, which is how to remove the laundry detergent stains from your clothes.

This is a weird situation, since normally laundry detergent is designed to remove stains, not cause them. However, I would suggest a long soak in a color safe bleach for the clothing, such as Oxiclean. Presoaking stains is one of my favorite stain removal techniques, and hopefully it will work for you here.

However, I would love to hear other people's suggestions for removing laundry detergent stains too. You can share your stain removal tip with me here, as well as read over 100 tips already submitted.

I hope this helps you Cathy! If you do call Gain, or try my stain removal method, I'd love to hear your results.

I've answered this question as part of the stain removal help section on my site. Come on over to that section to see what else I've been asked and answered, or to ask your own question!

***Update: Another reader, Elizabeth from Rapid City, SD, wrote in to share a similar problem with me. She says, about what she refers to as "purple Gain" (which I can't figure out what exact scent she means):

I recently switched to Gain detergent because I loved the scents, they have with Febreze. I am noticing on my lighter clothes that I have purple stains!!!

Therefore, this problem may be more wide-spread than I originally thought. I would love to hear from even more people sharing if you've had this specific problem! ***End Update

I'm A Gain Laundry Detergent Fan

by Mary
(Connecticut)

Mary has shared her Gain detergent review and opinions.

Mary says:

I have been using Gain Liquid in Original Scent for about two years now.

I am one of those Gain fanatics that also uses the Gain dryer sheets and have graduated onto the marriage of Febreze products with Gain scent.

My attraction to the Gain scent is purely based on not being fond of flowery scents and Gain smells more fruity.

I know that many consumers have complained about the new FreshLock, saying it smells too much like green apples, but because I am a relatively new Gain user, the change in the scent did not affect me as strongly.

Gain cleans clothes very well; stains too. I do not feel I need to use the Gain fabric softener because the detergent alone renders the clothes soft and fluffy.

I've not tried using Gain to remove odors because I have always added a half cup of Borax to any laundry in need of odor removal.

I also add a few tablespoons of Gain, in addition to the Clorox I use, for my whites to add a hint of the Gain smell.

I agree that Gain is one of the more expensive brands, but having clean, fresh and good smelling laundry is very important to me. So many of our memories are attached to smells we recall from childhood and my children (and family) always compliment the smell of our laundry. I am hoping that they will associate the Gain scent with a time in their lives when they were loved and taken care of....yes, that is a lot to attach to something as simple as laundry, but as a wife and mother - the simple things are what make my world go round!

Taylor says:

Thanks Mary for your Gain laundry detergent review.

I completely understand what you mean about wanting to show our children and other family members we love them, not only with words, but with actions. It is one of the primary motivations I have for working so hard to keep my house looking nice -- to keep them (and myself too) comfortable and happy.

Has anyone else used Gain for washing their clothes? If so, you can share your Gain laundry detergent review here, or read even more reviews already submitted.

I am especially interested in receiving more reviews of other scents of Gain besides the original. I have a couple reviews of Gain Apple Mango Tango, but I would love to hear what you think about some of the many other scents too!

The Odor Of Clothing Washed In Gain Is Offensive

Raphael from Toronto, Ontario says:

I can't stand the smell of the clothing washed in Gain. It is rancid and offensive.

I have had to wash the clothes six or more times to get rid of the odor.

My husband socializes with a family on our boat that use Gain and the smell is an overpowering unpleasant soap smell.

Chris says:

I've been a Gain user for a long time.

I bought a large jug of the HE version and could not stand the sour smell it left in everything.

The manufacturers either needs to fix the stink issue or I guess I'm stuck with using a different brand.

Not going to advertise which brand in this forum, but sure wish they would fix the problem.

Taylor says:

Lots of people love the smell of this detergent, but many others hate it.

Some of the people who now hate it used to love it. Unfortunately (at least for some) Procter & Gamble decided to change the scent of the original version of this laundry soap, and many people hate the new smell.

You can see lots more complaints about this issue here from other readers, who have been very passionate about this topic.

Gain's New Commercials Bug Me!

by Linda

Linda says:

Whoever wrote the Gain commercial needs to go back to school because "GOODER" is NOT a word.

It is good, better, best.

The only time I hear that word is from my 6year old grandson and I have to correct him.

Taylor says:

Linda, you're definitely not the only person who has gotten really aggravated by the bad grammar in this commercial.

Here it is, in case anyone is interested in watching it to see what Linda's talking about:



Annoying, huh?

Plus, this commercial discusses Gain Freshlock. While the company acts like this is a great new thing, I know lots of readers absolutely have hated the changes to the scent which have occurred.

You can read lots of submissions saying that New Gain with Freshlock stinks here.

Terrible Bleached Out Spots With Gain Liquid

by Marissa
(Troy, MI)

I tried using Gain after Consumer Reports gave it good reviews, but it has left terrible bleached out spots on clothes and sheets even using cold water AND letting the tub fill before adding clothes.

I'm going back to Tide.

I Love Gain Laundry Detergent - Original Scent, Liquid Review

by JoAnn Elkins
(Cropwell, Alabama)

JoAnn has shared her Gain laundry detergent review.

JoAnn says:

I love Gain. I always try to find the original scent, as I think it's still the best.

I always use liquid detergent so there's no chance of powdered detergent clumping or leaving spots on our clothes.

My husband is a painter, and works around all types of chemicals. No matter what I put in the wash, original scent Gain always give his clothes a clean, pleasant scent, without smelling flowery or like it's been sprayed with perfume. There's no trace of any of the odors he brings home from work on his clothes.

Gain may not get out every stain my husband encounters, but it comes very close. Usually, if I pre-treat, then wash with Gain, almost all of the stains are removed. The only exceptions are, of course, the permanent paints.

But when it comes to other chemicals such as paint thinner, sulfuric acid, etc., Gain never lets me down.

I've never experienced any problems with Gain detergent breaking down or damaging any of the fabric.

Another thing I love is that we've never had any problems with any skin allergies or reactions to this detergent.

Taylor says:

Thanks JoAnn for your Gain laundry detergent review.

I have actually gotten so many reviews of this detergent that I have multiple pages of reviews about it!

You can share your own review of Gain laundry detergent here, or read other reviews already submitted.

You can also share what you think is the best laundry detergent here, telling me about your favorites or those that have disappointed you.

Gain Laundry Detergent {Referral Links}

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