For years I thought I was the only person who'd ever heard of something called Soilove. I first found it back in 1982 while searching for any laundry stain product that could beat the outrageously high price of the name brands that were easy to find in my supermarket. When I reached to the top shelf and found a lowly mint-green bottle of an off-brand stain treatment called Soilove ("soil love"), I was suspicious that anything so cheap could be any good, but decided to give it a try.

Believe me, I love to find a bargain. But when the bargain brand outperforms its pricey competitors? Well, that really revs my engine.

Soilove is such an amazing product. It removes stains from laundry like you can't believe. I've used Soilove to get out new stains, old stains, red stains, grass stains, baby stains, food stains, blood stains, makeup stains, pet stains and every other kind of stain imaginable — except for yellow mustard. Not even Soilove can handle a yellow mustard stain.

Back then (we're talking 33 years, here), I paid $.79 for a 16-oz bottle of Soilove. By some kind of cheapskate miracle, today a 16-oz bottle of Soilove retails for just $.99 provided you know where to look.

Soilove continues to be available in 99 Cents Only Stores, which (hallelujah!) has expanded to more than 350 stores in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada. That's great news for those in the Southwest. But not to worry if you reside elsewhere. You can order a case of 12 bottles of Soilove from Amazon with prime shipping for about $30. While that's not quite $.99 per bottle, it's still cheaper than its pricey inferior competitors. And it IS Soilove!

If you're particularly frugal, you could easily stretch a case of Soilove to cover a couple years of domestic miracles.

Soilove has rescued so many things for me. I cannot imagine my life without it.

Over the years, I've come up with many other uses for Soilove — other than removing every stain I've ever attempted from clothing, except for yellow mustard. Let me assure you that Frank Kagarakis, the owner of America's Finest Products Corp. in Santa Monica, California and manufacturer of Soilove, tells me that the only approved use for Soilove is to apply it to washable fabrics to remove stains. That's all. He does not endorse, acknowledge, promote or in any other way suggest that Soilove should be used for any other purpose. Neither do I.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you all the ways I choose to use Soilove anyway — and have without any negative result.

JEWELRY. Soak fine jewelry in Soilove and then brush with an old toothbrush. Caution: Never put pearls, opals or other soft stones in any kind of cleaner.

BATHTUB. Cleans fiberglass and porcelain tubs beautifully.

STICKY LABEL REMOVER. How annoying is it to buy something beautiful only to have the label cemented right in the most conspicuous spot? Just spray or pour on Soilove and let it sit for a few minutes.

HUBCAPS AND CHROME. Spray it on, scrub gently with a cloth or soft brush. Rinse.

PATIO FURNITURE. Soilove will just melt away all that grime. Spray, let sit for a few minutes, scrub if necessary and rinse.

One last thing: I suggest you transfer Soilove into your own spray bottle. It will last a lot longer because that will allow you to be more judicious with its use. The bottle it comes in does not spray, and if you try to treat your stains by pouring it on, you'll waste a lot of the precious commodity. You only need to saturate a stain, not the entire item, in order for Soilove to do it's miraculous work. I use an industrial strength spray bottle from Home Depot that works perfectly.

Recently, my husband and I relocated from California to Colorado. On that final day, as we were loaded up and got ready to roll on the road trip we'd been anticipating and planning for more than a year, we needed to make one final stop: The brand new 99 Cents Only Store in Cypress, California, where I ran in and picked up — you guessed I — a case of Soilove.

Believe me, you're going to love Soilove.

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at [email protected], or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.