Carpet Spot Cleaners: Scotchguard OXY VS. Oxy-Boost

If you have kids and/or pets and carpeting, you also have spots and stains, whether it's from dirty shoes, spilled food, paint or crayons, or bodily functions. Life happens and your carpet takes the brunt. The cleaning product market is well aware of this fact and offers a bevy of products to remove stains. Two such products are Scotchguard OXY Spot & Stain Remover and Oxy-Boost.

Both Scotchguard OXY Spot & Stain Remover and Oxy-Boost use an oxygen compound to remove stains from your rugs and carpets. Therefore, both work best on organic spills like juice, coffee, tea, or food. Neither leave behind a residue you can feel, or chemical-smelling odor, which is a vast improvement from other carpet cleaners. This is where the basic similarities end.

Scotchguard is the premier name in stain protection, known for protecting carpets, fabrics, and upholstery from stains setting in. 3M's Scotchguard OXY Spot & Stain Remover for Carpets advertises it has "the only 2-in-1 carpet cleaner with built-in Scotchguard protector." The Scotchguard OXY Spot & Stain Remover comes in a spray bottle that can be directly applied to the stained carpet so it's easy to use and target. Sounds great. There's just one problem: it doesn't always work.

According to the Scotchguard directions, spray the soiled area and then wait a few minutes before blotting with a damp cloth or sponge. If the spot is particularly stubborn, repeat the process. The bottle's fine print reads "certain stains may cause permanent discoloration even after cleaning." Apparently there is a reason for Scotchguard's disclaimer. Recently my son dribbled juice on the rug. Since I saw it happen, I immediately blotted up the juice, sprayed the carpet with the Scotchguard OXY, and then blotted again. The spot was lighter, but still quite evident. So I reapplied, waited, and had a similar result. I gave up and moved on to other things.

A few days later, we had another spill so I tried a sample of Oxy-Boost. Oxy-Boost is "Oxygen Bleach" and is composed of sodium percarbonate to organically break down a stain. I combined the Oxy-Boost with water, applied it to the spot, scrubbed, and the stain disappeared. I tried it on the other set-in juice stain and out it came. In addition to its stain-fighting potential, Oxy-Boost is made of natural ingredients so I feel better about it being in proximity to my children. Maybe the Scotchguard OXY got up the majority of the stain, but it was Oxy-Boost that ultimately removed it.

One issue with the Oxy-Boost is that it comes in concentrate form and you have to make up the mixture yourself. This ensures you don't have waste, but also means unless you are organized and have a pre-made bottle, you might not have the Oxy-Boost readily available when you need it. I used a sample size that was perfect, but Oxy-Boost comes in four sizes from 18 oz to 20 pounds (see the web site at www.oxyboost.com for ordering information). Since Oxy-Boost can be used as a stain remover on everything from carpets to laundry to the bathtub, a large amount is nice to have.

Like anything else, the faster you get to a spill, the easier it is to clean up, and the best way to avoid a stain is to prevent the spill in the first place. In this sense, Scotchguard is a great product. When life happens to your carpet, Oxy-Boost does a pretty good job at removing the stain but I'd forget about using the Scotchguard OXY. Maybe your carpet is safer from future spills, but the ones that already happened won't completely fade from your memory.