Back in 95., My co-workers solved any stains and cleaning issues with it. Smelled like Kerosene to me! Then some time in the last 5 years I ended up getting it. Barely used it until recently when I found myself trying to remove stains from: 1. dining room bar stools, My clothes that got olive oil/bbq/yuck on them and Friend's dress with red wine on; Armpit stains from friend's clothes (whites), dirty area around walls. The way I use it is to soak the area in need, then I follow with Woolite Carpet Foam ad work it in with the Woolite's plastic brush cap. I then pour BORAX in the laundry water and some regular detergent and let it soak for around 30 minutes (this is for whites and beiges). I never really soak the colored items. I wash within 5 minutes of treating the spot. Some of my slogan T shirts did have a slight discoloration.

So, I've been on a journey that started with a stray Chapstick-brand Chapstick in the dryer. Then a stray Burt's Bees lip balm. Oily waxy speckles all over my clothes. The Internet assured me that I should get spray-on Goo Gone gel, and that would take out the balms. I don't know where the miscommunication happened, because that stuff left HUGE stains. There is oil in that spray. Maybe there didn't used to be. But anyway, THIS STUFF TOOK ALL OF IT OUT. Now there's just what looks like a little tiny bit of damage from the Goo Gone on one shirt. But the stains from the Goo Gone and the lip products are just GONE, after one soak and wash. And the strong smell of the Lestoil dissipated completely from the clothing after they hung inside for a few days. (I thought I was going to have to wash them a few more times. I reeeeaaaally drenched them.)

EDIT: tried it on deodorant stains on my light-colored t-shirts. Didn't budge them at all despite soaking as per the instructions. :( Guess that's not oil and therefore not this product's specialty. Lestoil smell was gone after drying in the dryer.

Looking at the reviews, seems like no one else had this problem but Lestoil left a grease-like blotchy stain on several laundry items. This occurred on colored fabric as well as white, cottons & synthetics! I put the cleaner in a spray bottle & after treating a stain & then washing the item, I noticed that wherever I sprayed, there was a new stain of where the cleaner came in contact with the fabric, even droplets of the cleaner left dots of stain! Some of the blotches were removed by scrubbing with Dawn & re-washing, but not all. So disappointed, esp. because I bought a 3-pack.

I was skeptical of all the rave reviews. But...i am sold. My husband is in industrial maintenance, and likes to tinker with stuff and gets into all kinds of greasy grimy goo... this stuff took motor oil out of a sweatshirt that had been washed and dried several times. He has thrown away shirts because they got splattered with cutting oil and it would not wash out. This has met my challenges and worked better than dawn dish soap, goo gone, and several other last resort attempts.

I bought this because it was highly recommended for set in grease stains in clothes. It definitely helped, but didn't get rid of the mystery stains on my clothes. I thought it was grease but it could have been wax from a chapstic. It took a shirt from completely unwearable to "you'd only notice if you looked close". It was a dark blue cookie monster shirt with a big stain on the back of the shirt and a couple of small ones on the front. Front ones came out entirely. Large back one had 2 washes and it's almost gone.

It stinks like paint stripper.