I am one of those people who values a clean home but hates the actual cleaning process. My mind feels much clearer when my space is less cluttered. It is pretty dramatic how my mental state waxes and wanes depending on whether the house is "presentable."

That said, I'm usually up for reviewing cleaning products since many of them aim to do their job in an more efficient manner. Such is the case with X-14 Mold & Mildew Stain Remover, a product that claims to remove stains without scrubbing and to keep stains away for up to two weeks. Thanks to Mom Central, I got a bottle free-for-review.

I've tested "no scrub" products before, and typically there was scrubbing involved, but even a little reduction of elbow grease is enough to make me happy. Still, many of those other products didn't work even after I scrubbed.

My test location for X-14 is a shower that I don't use. Our house has a family room that was created out of what used to be the garage. Off the garage was a utility bathroom, including shower. Our backyard used to include a neighborhood pool, but many years ago the property lines were redrawn and the pool removed. And so, I think our garage bathroom doubled as the pool shower. We use it as a bathroom and a laundry room (oh! and the cat's litter box / food room) but I didn't want to set foot into that shower... until this test.

When we have people over, we naturally convene in the family room. Unfortunately, that means that the closest bathroom is this funky one that is pretty messy. It is embarrassing to have people go in there, but it seems awkward to direct them to go back into the kitchen, through the dining room, past the living room, and then finally to the first door on the right to the "proper" bathroom.

And so the best solution would appear to be to clean up that nearby bathroom.

Let's cut to the chase. Here are photos of the disgusting bathroom shower before X-14:

Here are photos of the same shower stall after a single application - NO scrubbing:

Here are photos of the same shower stall after a second application - STILL NO scrubbing:

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the "before" with the "after second application" (so time span about a half-hour since each application and rinse took 5-15 minutes:)

Between both applications I rinsed well, as per the instructions. After the second application I was going to do "in action" photos, but the stains disappeared before I got my camera pointed. Seriously. I just sprayed, waited a few minutes, and then rinsed. No scrubbing.

To "finish" the shower, I did take a paper towel to clean up some of the metal parts. As per the X-14 instructions, it is recommended for hard, non-porous interior home, RV, and boat surfaces, including: bathroom tiles, grout, fiberglass and vinyl showers, vinyl bath mats and shower curtains, plastic garbage cans, and pails. It can also be used on outside surfaces like walls, decks, concrete, masonry, tile roofs, plastic furniture, awnings, vinyl (but not on cotton stitching,) mortar, plastic tubs, boats and marine surfaces and vinyl covers, swimming pool liners, and hot tubs. X-14 CAN be used on metal surfaces, but the instructions state to avoid prolonged contact with metal because it may cause rust stains. And so, I didn't spray the metal portions of the shower head-on, and was sure to rinse well, then wipe residue with a paper towel that didn't wash off with the water.

I didn't scrub.

I only wiped little flakes of gunk off with a paper towel.

Most of the gunk came off rinsing off with the shower spray.

X-14 Mold & Mildew Stain Remover worked as promised. Many people will probably wonder: so just how strong is it, anyway?

The main ingredient in X-14 Mold & Mildew Stain Remover is sodium hypochlorite (bleach) at a level generally 60 percent higher than similar products on the market. The product is activated by "pH adjustments." Of course the instructions recommend ventilating the room well.

I opened the bathroom window, left the shower stall door open, and left the bathroom door open. My kids said, "What's that smell?" at one point during the cleaning, but once I had rinsed, they didn't mention it again. They didn't leave the sofa by the bathroom nor did they complain. I didn't wear gloves during application, but perhaps some might want to "just in case." Since there is no scrubbing and the product spray doesn't leak, it didn't get on my hands anyway.

I am notorious for being bothered by smells, but X-14 didn't bother me. I didn't feel overcome by the fumes. Other products have made me feel a bit woozy before, plus other products have required more product to get the job done (as well as scrubbing and thus more "intimate" involvement with the product) and so although X-14 might technically be stronger than those products, it didn't seem that way to me.

I will definitely use X-14 again. The cleaning of the dreaded ikky shower ended up not being a disgusting production as I had feared. Instead, it was a bit of spraying, a bit of rinsing, and then a quick wipe to pick up gunk the water was unable to dislodge. it was surprisingly painless.

Thank you X-14 for making our shower presentable again!