Most detergents include enzymes in the formulation to deal moderate stains, some don't.

Stain-treat products are a stronger concentration applied directly to the problem area.

Ahh I see. What if the stain is a few weeks old? How can I remove it then?

The longer a stain sits on/in fabric, the harder it will be to remove. Some stains will never come out because they have become "set" either by time or heat (washing & drying & ironing), or its very nature, like sunscreen and other mystery stains.

Stain removers such as "Shout" can help, sometimes it does not. Sometimes a good long soak in Oxy-Clean helps. At times, I've had to resort to Citra-Solve and other times that doesn't help.
We have a bottle of Persil "Colors" gel detergent, I use a small bit of it on any stains I have on dark clothing. It is my favorite pre-treat for stains. The enzymes eat up the stain (usually food/oil based) and it works better than Shout, even after Shout has failed to remove the spot. Apply a small amount to the spot and gently massage into the fabric, allow to set 5 - 10 minutes, then launder as usual.

I only use Persil because I have it on hand and cannot launder a whole load of clothing in it; the perfume makes me itch. When it's gone, I'll use any good liquid laundry detergent that has enzymes, like Tide or Cheer.

(edited a typo)

This post was edited by Cavimum on Thu, Jan 10, 13 at 8:11

google the type of stain you are trying to remove. different stain types require varying methods of removal.

Can somebody please recommend me a detergent that I can use that will effectively remove stains from my clothing without the need for pre-treating? I don't really know how pre-treating stuff works so I just want one type of detergent that does it all basically. I just want to be able to throw my clothes into the laundry, pour in the detergent, and have the detergent remove all the stains from all my clothes. Is that possible?

This post was edited by matrixgravity on Thu, Jan 10, 13 at 2:19

anyone?

Best (easiest over all) suggestion would be either (depending on your machine), Tide Vivid (liquid or powder) in regular formula or HE (HE for High Efficiency machines, regular for old fashioned top loaders).

@ Matrixgravity,

Unfortunately I don't believe there is such a detergent. If detergents did what you asked, there would be no market for stain sprays. My goodness, even Tide sells a stain booster for its own detergents - and Tide is the top rated, best cleaning detergent according to Consumer Reports. What does that tell you?

So, you guys are basically saying that the only way to completely remove stains from clothes is by using detergent and a stain remover when washing clothes? So I have to use both combined in order to get the best results and clean clothes?

@matrixgravity - Yes. There is no easy way out. Really. If there was, we would have figured it out by now.

Yes, matrixgravity, that's what we are saying.

It's really not all that hard... just give your laundry a once over as you put it in the machine. If you see a stain or spot give it a squirt of your choice of stain remover then throw it on in the machine. Good ole liquid Dawn dishwashing liquid is a great stain remover, just squirt some on and rub it in. Shout is also very good. My favorite is one I make myself. Put 1/2 Hyrdrogen Peroxide and 1/2 Dawn dishwashing liquid in a spray bottle. I use it on any and all stains and have never found a stain it will not take out and it has not faded dark fabrics. It is pretty disgusting to think that for what we pay for detergents now days that we have to use additives and are amazed when they work!... when used to we just threw in the clothes, added detergent and they came out clean...

"Regular" laundry soil doesn't need boosters.

As others have said, simply examine your garments when loading the machine and treat extra stains (dripped food, grass spots, grease, blood, etc.) when they've occurred.

Or, you can also apply some pretreat products, such as Shout Stainstick, immediately when the stain occurs (or later when undressing) and let them sit and work on the stain until washing a few days later ... but be careful doing that with colors that could fade.

Pre-washing or pre-soaking is also another method of removing difficult stains without pre-treating, but it's somewhat wasteful as well.

Also.. if you really don't want to mess with looking for spots, stains etc.. you could also throw a scoop of Biz in with each load, it is great at removing them...