Oh, to have my own washing machine. Apartment living means fighting over free machines, and never having enough quarters — and stains languishing in the hamper. In an attempt to get rid of those stains, I decided to give new app iStain for iPhone and iPod Touch a try while it’s currently on sale for 99 cents.
No, iStain won’t wash your clothes for you, but what it does do is give you options on how to treat more than 100 common spills and stains on both white and color fabrics. iStain’s database is divided into eight categories by stain type, and also features a search bar if you know what exactly that is on your favorite shirt.
Despite iStain’s large database of stains, the app probably won’t be of much use to you. Although iStain’s suggestions seemed to be on the same level as other stain-fighting guides I’ve perused, many of its suggestions required very specific ingredients that one might not have readily available. The app doesn’t provide alternate solutions in these cases. iStain does tell you how fast you need to deal with a stain, but since no actual time elements are provided, your take on “quickly” versus “immediately” might mean your garment is ruined.
iStain also isn’t very well-written. The app is chock-full of typos and misspellings, and it isn’t visually appealing — all sins I prefer my pay apps don’t commit. iStain also felt unstable, crashing on multiple occasions.
Although I like that iStain isn’t associated with a brand, its bias-free results aren’t worth a buck. Opt for one of the manufacturer-based stain apps or a good old-fashioned Google search instead.
