CHOICE verdict
The Pink Stuff Cleaning Miracle Paste does an adequate job for light-to-medium cleans, such as running shoes and sinks, but it's not 'miraculous' in its removal of heavier stains on ovens or pots and pans. Although, The Pink Stuff did outperform bicarb soda and water for light cleaning.
Price: $6.95
Contact: thepinkstuff.com.au
With an international cult following that boasts endless five-star reviews by consumers, we put The Pink Stuff Cleaning Miracle Paste to the test to see if it lives up to the hype.
On this page:
What is The Pink Stuff?
Touted as an all-round cream cleaner on an array of common household surfaces, The Pink Stuff is a mild abrasive that is supposedly "gentle on surfaces but tough on stains".
From dirty running shoes to grotty pots and pains, stained oven glass and cooktops to yucky ceramic tiles, there's supposedly no end to the miraculous cleaning deeds this little pink pot of goo can do.
First manufactured and launched in the UK in 2002, The Pink Stuff has garnered a cult following over the years with users consistently rating it highly and singing its praises on social media platforms. The Pink Stuff entered the Australian market only recently, in 2021, and is currently only available to buy online.
The Pink Stuff has garnered a cult following over the years with users consistently rating it highly and singing its praises on social media
We trialled The Pink Stuff Cleaning Miracle Paste from The Pink Stuff range, which claims to contain 99% natural ingredients and be non-toxic, non-hazardous and vegan.
Its ingredients include quartz, aqua, soap, sodium carbonate, sodium silicate, sodium bicarbonate, glycerin, farfum, benzisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, laurylamine dipropylenediamine and CI 45170.
It's described as "a tough cleaning paste that is gentle on surfaces but tough on stains. Ideal for cleaning saucepans, barbecues, ceramic tiles, glass, rust, sinks, uPVC, garden furniture, paintwork, boats, cook tops, copper and much more".
Runners before (right) and after (left) cleaning with The Pink Stuff.
Does it work?
To determine whether The Pink Stuff is as miraculous as its fans – and marketing teams – say it is, we've put the product to the test on a pair of grubby white vinyl runners, an old burnt pan, a white ceramic sink and the stained glass on an oven door.
On opening the lid of the small tub of The Pink Stuff, I was pleasantly surprised by its mild floral scent – there was no harsh cleaning product smell, which was definitely a plus. The paste was also simple to apply, I experienced no skin irritation while using it (although, I was wearing kitchen gloves) and, being pink, it was easy to identify when cleaning off the residue.
Whitening muddy runners
Despite going through the wash after a very muddy walk, my son's white runners still looked pretty grubby.
Using an old toothbrush, I scrubbed The Pink Stuff onto the shoes and immediately saw an improvement.
Result: Success! I couldn't believe the difference after five minutes of gentle cleaning with The Pink Stuff.
Reviving a grotty kitchen pan
I've been hiding this pan at the bottom of my cupboard for years, ashamed of the disgusting state it's in but in no way prepared to throw it out.
I always intended to tackle it at some stage, and with The Pink Stuff's claim that it cleaned saucepans and cooktops "miraculously", I considered it was a good opportunity to finally give it a try.
I saw very little if any improvement to the pan, despite following this same procedure three more times
I applied a fair amount of The Pink Stuff onto the grotty pan and left it for a good 15 minutes to work its magic. Returning to the task with a green scourer (I wasn't too worried about scratching with this sturdy pan), I scrubbed the pan for a good five minutes before cleaning off the residue with a clean, wet cloth.
Unfortunately, I saw very little if any improvement to the pan, despite following this same procedure three more times.
Result: Fail. The stains on the pan did not "miraculously" disappear at all, despite my very best efforts.
My baking pan before (left) and after.
The oven door from hell
I'm embarrassed to share my disgusting oven door with its grotty glass, stained after many months of neglect. But I'm willing to make the sacrifice for the greater good to test out the effectiveness of The Pink Stuff.
I applied The Pink Stuff to the glass, using a hefty amount of the product to ensure the whole area received a good covering. I then left it to fester for 15–20 minutes, returning to it with a cloth, which is directed to be used to rub away at the stains. Then I wiped the paste residue off with a clean, wet cloth.
Result: Fail. While a small amount of the surface stain did lift, it certainly wasn't a miraculous result.
The oven door before (left) and after.
Take two
I started second guessing myself – had I applied The Pink Stuff incorrectly to my oven door? So I did some research online and after watching several YouTube videos of people cleaning their ovens with The Pink Stuff, I decided to try it again and leave the product on for longer before scrubbing the glass, this time with a green scourer.
But I was left disappointed once again. Without using a metal scourer or steel wool, there is no way that stain was going to come off – with or without The Pink Stuff. But as I'm not prepared to risk scratching the glass to get the stains off, it looks like I'll have to do it the old fashioned way – with an oven cleaner spray.
The Pink Stuff vs bicarb soda
The Pink Stuff may get rave reviews online, but so too does its homemade cousin – bicarb soda and water.
To this end, I set out to compare the two in a cleaning duel to determine whether bicarb is just as effective as The Pink Stuff. After all, both are basically just a bunch of abrasives and surfactants, right?
The left half of the sink untouched vs the right side after cleaning with The Pink Stuff.
Shining up a porcelain kitchen sink
My builder husband has been renovating our kitchen, which has required the temporary removal of our kitchen sink. While the cream-coloured porcelain of the sink isn't dirty or stained, there was a small accumulation of mildew around the hole where the tap goes and also along the edge, where the unit connects to the wall.
The unit has two sinks, both with identical areas of concern. On the left-hand side sink, I applied my homemade bicarb paste and on the right-hand side sink, I applied The Pink Stuff. For both, I used a soft cloth and rinsed the paste residue off with a clean, wet tea towel.
The Pink Stuff: Win. The mildew build up came away without much effort on my part.
Bicarb and water: Average-to-Fail. While some of the mildew build-up did come off, I had to rub on those much harder than I'd done with The Pink Stuff. I also wasn't able to remove ALL of the mildew marks on the edge of the basin with the bicarb soda as I was able to with The Pink Stuff.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
