Production crews make laundry seem so magical in commercials. In these ads, disgruntled parents lament over the stubborn grass and grape juice stains that their current washing machine just can't ...

It's one thing to wish away stains that are both metaphorical and real, as in Lady Macbeth's tormented line, "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" (Macbeth, Act V, Scene I). But in the Consumer Reports test ...