Filed under: Storage & Cleaning, Storage & Organization, Cleaning
Shout claims that their new Color Catcher sheets allow whites to be washed with colors. But do they work? One writer puts the spin cycle to the test.You know the saying: "If it's too good to be true, it probably is." Well, let's just say that was the thought running through my mind as I walked out of Target the other day with Shout Color Catcher in hand.
Yep, Shout has come out with a new product that claims to put an end to the old "white + colors = pink laundry" rule. Maybe you've seen the commercial, where an enthusiastic woman brags about how she can wash her husband's white shirts with her red dress. There's a "dramatization" of the sheet in the washing machine, absorbing all of the red dye while the spiffy work shirt remains untouched and then -- tada! -- a perfect white shirt, right out of the laundry. But really, how could this be? Even I, the dunce of all things domestic, know that mixing laundry is a recipe for disaster. So, when my ShelterPop editor asked me to put the new product to the test, I decided to throw in a load of a laundry.
Photo: Sara Brown
Things didn't exactly go as planned.
After purchasing three brand-spankin' new Hanes white t-shirts, I rounded-up the boldest blue and red t-shirts I could find:
Photo: Sara Brown
All of the t-shirts' tags specifically said to wash in warm water with LIKE colors. I cranked my washing machine up to warm and tossed them all in together, along with two of the Color Catcher sheets and the designated amount of laundry detergent. (Instructions suggest using 2 to 3 sheets when washing brand new items.)
Thirty minutes later the load was done and here's what I found:
Photo: Sara Brown
Shocked? So was I. Here's how the Shout Color Catcher technology works: The sheets, which look and feel just like your average dryer sheet, absorb and trap loose dyes in your water, safeguarding your laundry from color bleeds and runs, and helping to preserve your clothes. No more wasted time spent sorting your laundry and waiting to finish two loads when you could be doing one!
Photo: Sara Brown
Photo: Sara Brown
Not to mention saving money by eliminating half-size (or in my case: one-item) loads from your wash routine. Call me over-the-top, but I'm naming this product one of the coolest cleaning innovations of 2011! Step aside Magic Eraser, Shout Color Catcher just put a whole new spin on cleaning up fast!
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