Understanding「この洗剤は面白いほどよごれが取れる。」

Question

I found this odd sentence while I was reading a grammar article on ほど

この洗剤は面白いほどよごれが取れる。

This detergent gets rid of the stains so easily.

Is it alright to understand this sentence literally as "This detergent gets stains off, to the extent that it is pleasant to me."? I'm uncertain about the meaning of 面白い here. I'm not sure why it means "easily" when it is combined with ほど.

I found the similar word 面白いように. It also means "easily" like 面白いほど. What is the difference between 面白いほど and 面白いように? I found this relevant question. After a bit of reading, I came to conclude that くらいに/ほどに/ように have almost the same meaning. Is it alright to think this way?

Also, what kind ように used in 面白いように? I understand XXXように either as "as/like XXX" or "in such way that XXX." Can I understand 面白いように as "in such way that it is interesting to me"? Also, does 面白い here even mean "interesting"?

Answer 1

面白いほど and 面白いように are interchangeable, and these are set phrases used when something can be done very easily and pleasantly. You can probably call them idioms, too. This ように is "in such-and-such a way/manner". As for the meaning of 面白い itself, I think it basically means "makes you smile/laugh" rather than "interesting" here, but since this is a heavily-used idiomatic expression, "so easily" or "pleasantly" is just fine. Grammatically speaking, your analysis is not wrong, but you may not have to translate it too literally like "to the point where it makes you laugh".

Answer 2

面白い in this particular sentence roughly means 驚く in Japanese, or amaze, delight, impress, fascinate, or whatever in English.

This sentence is apparently a detergent marketing tagline, slogan, or the like. So, 面白い is used in a non-standard way, and does not literally mean 面白い as we know it. It is apparently used in order to stress how effective and delightful the product is.

The sentence can be translated as: This detergent removes dirt and stains to such an extent that it delights you.

Meanwhile, as you suggested, 面白いように is synonymous with 面白いほど. In fact, they are interchangeable in this instance.