Did you just get a stain on your blouse and need some ideas as to the best way to get it out? Spill that latte on your pants on the way to work this morning?

Procter & Gamble, which is certainly taking innovation and social networking to new levels among consumer products (thereby keeping what might otherwise become commodities distinctive choices), has, through its Tide brand, released the “Tide Stain Brain,” a free app for the iPhone or iPod Touch, available via the iTunes App Store.

Not only does it allow you to do things like browse the top 20 stains or zero in on the specific Tide stain solution to your problem, as P&G is also about building community, users can contribute their own stain-removing tips or to rate those of others.

Explains Suzanne Watson, associate marketing director, Tide North America, “As the trusted leader in laundry and fabric care, we wanted to create a tool to help people with a universal problem: frustrating stains. At the same time, we recognize that consumers also have a lot of passion for their own personal stain remedies, so we wanted to provide a forum for people to share the laundry tips and tricks that work best for them.”

Think of it as open-stain-removal innovation.