Don’t trust anything on the internet — until Mashable tries it first. Welcome to the Hype Test, where we review viral trends and tell you what's really worth millions of likes.
There's nothing I hate more in my kitchen than my electric glass cooktop.
It's hard to control the temperature, it takes a long time to heat up, and worst of all: the stains.
I can be a bit of a neat freak, but I would never call myself a "clean" person. Sure, I like things clean, but when I clack my kitchen tongs together twice and get to cooking, I'm often left with a messy counter, a full sink, and a glass cooktop with various sticky stains and caked-on food once the meal hits the table.
Cleaning counters and dishes is a breeze. But after using the Samsung electric range that came with our home when we bought it over a year ago, I still hadn't found an easy way to remove stains that seemingly appeared immediately after one use. So when I saw a bright pink cleaner catching praise all over TikTok(opens in a new tab), I had to check it out.
What is The Pink Stuff?
The Pink Stuff(opens in a new tab) was sort of destined for viral fame. It comes in a bright pink container and claims to be a "miracle cleaning paste." It's from the UK-based company Stardrops so it wasn't available in the cleaning aisle of my local grocery store. Given the product is likely new to many users in the U.S., it was given a miracle-like status on the social media platform known for quick, witty content and wild transformations. Video after video shows people effortlessly returning pots, pans, and ovens with caked-on grime to their original glory.
Though you may not be able to get the cleaner in your local store, you can get The Pink Stuff in America on sites like Amazon: I managed to score a two-pack that was delivered next day for $15.99(opens in a new tab) in an unassuming Prime box. After ripping open the box and the gray plastic holding the two-pack together, I was greeted with the bright pink packaging I was now familiar with because of TikTok. The paste itself however has more of a gray tint to it, and it's not nearly as exciting as the coloring of the flimsy plastic can that it comes in.
Does The Pink Stuff really work?
In preparation of testing out this, I made sure to NOT clean my cooktop for a whole week to see if it could really cut through some grease. Cooking on one of these surfaces usually causes some splattering of water and oil, including whatever food falls out of the pan you're cooking with. If you are diligently wiping away as you cook, you're bound to get some mess on one of the adjacent burners, meaning caked-on mess that can feel nearly impossible to get clean.
Opening up the tub was easy, and I chose to use a microfiber cleaning towel to administer the cleaner to the cook top as the instructions suggested. The first thing I noticed was the smell, or lack thereof. Put your nose right up to the tub and there's a fruity berry scent that smells more like a candy than a cleaner. This was a huge plus for me, because while I do want my home clean, I don't want to catch a headache from fumes to do so.
The paste is the consistency of a sandy peanut butter, and it easily spread across the cooktop. The pink coloring quickly faded to a gray and brown, and I was surprised at how rapidly the paste dried. You can start scrubbing right away -- I barely had to scrub at all, and wiped away the dried paste with a wet sponge, and then I polished it off with a dry towel.
The verdict
I was honestly impressed. I've used plenty of other methods to clean my glass cooktop before, including Easy Off (which I was also suggested on TikTok), and some version of vinegar and baking soda with soap. But The Pink Stuff took minimal scrubbing in order for it to clean off the grease, and I didn't have to wait for it to work like you do with other cleaners.
But with great pleasure I had using The Pink Stuff, I also came to the sad realization that some imperfections on my glass cooktop were too far gone for any cleaner to repair. The spots left behind on that The Pink Stuff couldn't get up are likely scratches and there forever. That's no fault to the cleaner, but the an unfortunate side effect that comes with cooking on these tops too much, and cleaning too little.
Maybe one day we'll be able to spring for a gas unit, but for now I'll continue to hate my glass cooktop.
Considering how well The Pink Stuff performed, I decided to try it out on the rest of my house while I cleaned up. It worked wonders on the tub, easily freshened up the bathroom sink, and even managed to clear up some of the darkening grout in the bathroom.
Again, I need to reiterate that the best part about this cleaner is the smell. Loading up my teeny bathroom with any cleaner can quickly make your eyes water, but this doesn't give off a much of a scent at all, even when spread across a surface.
While The Pink Stuff is great, I plowed through half of a tub in my one day of cleaning. So though it can clean a lot of different surfaces, it may not be very cost effective to use. I'll save The Pink Stuff for cleaning really tough grease stains and kitchenware, which is how I saw it being used when it first went viral on TikTok.
So, what's The Pink Stuff actually made of?
The packaging itself didn't offer me much of an ingredient list, but I was able to find it on the Detergent Product Information for the UK. The ingredients listed are quartz, aqua, soap, sodium carbonate, sodium silicate, sodium bicarbonate, glycerin, parfum, Laurylamine Dipropylenediamine, Acid Red 52, and Dimethicone.
The label also claims it is "vegan", made from 99 percent "natural ingredients," "environmentally non-toxic," and that it was not tested on animals. The product is also endorsed by the NatureWatch Foundation(opens in a new tab), which aims to "end animal cruelty and advance animal welfare standards."
Add to cart?
Yes. No doubt I'll be using The Pink Stuff on my greasy pots, pans, oven, and cooktop going forward. It really it a great cleaner, and it won't make you feel all woozy after working with it for an hour.
In addition to the regular paste, Stardrops also recently released a multi-purpose spray and a bathroom foam cleaner, which may be more economical than the paste. Still though, a bundle of the three Pink Stuff cleaners(opens in a new tab) is going to run you nearly $40 on Amazon.
