I'm a cleaning fanatic, and The Pink Stuff is my $6 miracle worker

I'm a cat owner, which means I have to embrace the possibility that weird splotches and stains will appear everywhere and anywhere in my home. Whether it's the wet food she splatters Jackson Pollock-style all over my walls or the tiny scratches she leaves on my cabinets, my feline keeps me busy. If I'm not vacuuming her fur, I'm wiping down a surface. Of course, I love my kitty — but the mystery spots, many of which I've never been able to eliminate entirely? Not so much.

After trying tons of promising cleaner-uppers, from Magic Erasers to scrubbers to stain removers that work on everything but the actual stain, I had all but given up. That is, until the interwebs oh-so-conveniently directed me to a cleaning solution called The Pink Stuff that promised to help — and actually did.

Fans have branded The Pink Stuff the best, fastest, cheapest way to get rid of any stain, period. I've scrolled through hundreds of videos of users applying it on walls, pots, countertops, windowpanes, you name it. And it looks like I'm not the only one who's obsessed — over 80,000 tubs have been sold in just the past month!

I purchased myself a tub from Amazon and it arrived the next day in all its pink glory. And did I mention it's an Amazon No. 1 bestseller?

The name totally makes sense: It's a hot pink paste that turns light pink when you apply it. The tub is also massive: It weighs about a pound, so you get a lot of bang for your six bucks.

You're probably thinking that something this cheap, bright and effective has to have an off-putting chemical smell, right? Wrong! It has a light floral scent, so no need to hold your breath when you open the jar. As for application, just use a cloth or sponge (many swear by the Scrub Daddy) and gently rub away the stain. It takes minimal elbow grease — in just a few minutes, the cat food residue on my walls was gone for good. It took a little more time to work its magic on scratches and paw-print stains, but they're history too.

According to 153,000-plus five-star Amazon ratings, The Pink Stuff works on nearly any surface. Parents swear by it for removing permanent marker stains left behind by toddler Picassos, while cooks insist it gets rid of tough spots on silverware, pots and pans. If a stain has bedeviled you for years, try it — it just might change your life.

Shoppers are tickled pink — one even used it to get her shower looking as good as new. According to one besotted shopper: "This stuff is amazing. I purchased this two years ago and it set on a shelf. I saw a cleaning video where someone used it on their oven glass top—I let a pot of grits over boil and created a huge mess. I smeared the pink stuff all over the top. With very little scrubbing. It looks absolutely brand new! Even took off a couple missed spots from prior cleaning. I wish I had taken pictures. I'm sure it will happen again. This is a must have!"

"I live in an apartment and the maintenance staff isn’t trained in repairs," wrote this convert. "There was some sort of hard finishing adhesive that was on the front of the cupboard and I tried everything to remove it. I couldn’t further damage it by chipping it off or filing it. It took less than five minutes of scrubbing to remove any trace of it and didn’t damage the cupboard surface at all. I also had a weird stain that looked like cranberry juice inside the fridge. It was a tough stain, not removed by bleach. I barely wiped the product on and the stain removed instantly. I didn’t even have to rub it. Blew my mind."

Even cleaning professionals are hooked. Said one, "I am a professional house cleaner and I don’t think I’ll ever want to go without this product again! Nothing else has gotten my oven door clean ... this worked with a little elbow grease. It is completely clean now! It got a pot I have had for 15 years looking new. I cannot wait to use this in my clients' houses."

"Best cleaning product I’ve ever used," raved a generally pleased buyer. "Got stains out of my tub that nothing else worked on, even a product with bleach. I love that this is bleach-free. I just wish it would spread more easily."

"Believe the reviews! This stuff is amazing," wrote a final fan. "It is really good for cleaning greasy appliances. My only complaint is that it doesn't come in a squeeze container. I don't like the idea of dipping the same brush in the container." (Psst: The Pink Stuff also comes as a spray!)

And if you don't feel like scrubbing manually, the Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber is another top-seller:

If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.