The Effect of Different Cleaning Products on Stain Removal.
Abstract:
The purpose of this project is to see which stain remover solvent is the most affective against a ketchup stain. I used 5 stain removers Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover, Shout Stain Remover, Tide To Go Pen, Vinegar, and a Baking Soda and Water mixture. The 3 name brand stain removers all have enzymes in them but the Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover is the only one that is natural and it is the only one with a 3 count enzyme system. My hypothesis is that the Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remove will work the best because it has a triple enzyme system which was specifically designed to attack the stain molecules. The data I collected in this project was that the Seventh Generation Natural removed the stain the best, and the Tide To Go Pen removed the stain the worst. The evidence I have to support why I think the Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover ended up removing the stain the best is that unlike all of the other stain removers the Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover has a triple enzyme system designed to attack and lift stain molecules. It is also free from any fragrances or dyes because it is natural. A source of error could've been that the specific instructions for each stain remover was not followed correctly. The Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover came out better than I expected and the Tide To Go Pen came out worse than I expected. In conclusion the Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remove removed the stain the best out of the 5 different stain removers. It left the piece of fabric closest to its original color.Bibliography/Citations:
All of the photos used in my science project were photos I took of my science project personally.
Additional Project Information
Project files
Research Plan:
During this project I am testing how affective each stain remover solvent is. In this project I will be using 3 name brand stain removers (Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover, Shout Stain Remover, and Tide to go Pen) and 2 common substitute stain removers (Vinegar and Baking Soda + Water solution). There will be 2 trials for each stain remover. Each trial will have a piece of fabric cut out of the same white t-shirts. The stain will be made by 1 tablespoon of ketchup on each piece of fabric. I followed the specific instructions listed for each stain remover. The safety precautions of this project are to make sure to wash your hands before touching your face, it is recommended to wear gloves, and to make sure you don't get any stain remover in your eye, it is recommended to wear gloves.
For this project I am using 5 different stain remover solvents. I have 3 different stain removers which include different enzymes to attack the stain molecules. The seventh generation has a triple enzyme system which was specifically made to attack stain molecules. Unlike Seventh Generation Stain Remover, the Shout Stain Remover only has a one enzyme system, but has been proven to be very effective. Tide to go Pens have an enzyme and various sulfates and oxides. The Tide to go Pen also has hydrogen peroxide, which alone is also an effective stain remover. All 3 of these name brand stain removers have enzymes in them. These enzyme stain removers have an enzyme or enzyme systems which help release stubborn stains. Vinegar is a natural Stain Remover, and can be very effective, but not on everything. It is the most effective on wool and synthetic type materials. If you are going to use it as a stain remover on different materials, you should do a spot test first. Baking Soda is a common substitute for a stain remover and is used as a paste when mixed with water. It lifts stains by letting the paste mixture (baking soda and water) sit on the stain area for approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the stain. Baking Soda and water is also commonly used to remove an odor from pieces of fabric.
Questions and Answers
1. What was the major objective of your project and what was your plan to achieve it?
The major objective of my project was to find out what stain remover solvent removed stains the best. My plan to achieve it was to pick 5 different stain removers. I picked 3 name brand stain removers and 2 stain remover substitutes because I wanted to have a variety and stain removers with different ingredients. This way I would have the most accurate results possible because I would be using stain removers that all have different ingredients.
a. Was that goal the result of any specific situation, experience, or problem you encountered? The goal of any specific situation, experience, or problem I faced was to learn from it. From any problem that happened during I learned from it, the experiment was able to tell me what worked and what didn't work. It also told me information that I didn't know before. For example that Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover would remove the stain the best.
b. Were you trying to solve a problem, answer a question, or test a hypothesis?
I was trying to answer a question. My question was what stain remover solvent was the most effective. In conclusion Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover proved to be the most effective, and the Tide to go Pen was the least effective.
2. What were the major tasks you had to perform in order to complete your project?
The major tasks that needed to happened to complete my project was finding all of the cleaners and then making sure to follow all of the specific directions for each cleaner. Some cleaners had different directions than others, so to make sure that every cleaner had a fair shot I had to make sure that I followed the directions carefully.
a. For teams, describe what each member worked on.
I didn't work in a team, I completed the assignment by myself.
3. What is new or novel about your project? My project used some newer stain removers such as Shout Stain Remover, and the Tide to go Pen. My project also used one natural stain remover which was the Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover, which also happened to be the most affective stain remover.
a. Is there some aspect of your project's objective, or how you achieved it that you haven't done before? In my past science projects I have never done how affective the independent variable would be towards the dependent variable. Most of my past projects was based on how much the independent variable changed how the dependent variable appeared.
b. Is your project's objective, or the way you implemented it, different from anything you have seen? I think it is different and not different at the same time. I think that my point of view was using many different types of stain removers instead of using all name brand stain removers or all substitute stain removers. I have also seen many projects where the purpose of the project is too see what material is the most effective against the dependent variable.
c. If you believe your work to be unique in some way, what research have you done to confirm that it is? I think it is unique in some way because all of the stain removers I used have different ingredients. The name brand stain removers all have an enzyme or enzyme system in them. The Seventh Generation Natural Stain Remover is the only one of the stain removers that has a triple enzyme system. The Shout Stain Remover and the Tide to go Pen only have one enzyme. The Vinegar and Baking Soda + water mixture do not have any enzymes in them to remove the stain.
4. What was the most challenging part of completing your project? The most challenging part of my project was making sure that I used each stain remover the right way. For this project I wanted to make sure that I used the most effective way of cleaning it because I wanted the results to be unbiased. I also had to make sure I did the second trial for each stain remover the same way.
a. What problems did you encounter, and how did you overcome them? One problem I encountered was that at first I didn't interpret the directions for the Shout Stain remover the right way. Luckily I realized it before I continued on, and I had extra materials, and I was able to re-do it, but the right way.
b. What did you learn from overcoming these problems? I learned that you can not stress yourself about the flaws that happen because everything isn't perfect. You have to just think of another solution because there is almost always another alternative to solving a problem.
5. If you were going to do this project again, are there any things you would you do differently the next time?
Next time I would use all substitute stain removers instead of using some name brand stain removers and some substitute stain removers.
6. Did working on this project give you any ideas for other projects?
While working on this project it gave me the idea to try the same project again, but I would either use all name brand stain removers or all substitute stain removers.
7. How did COVID-19 affect the completion of your project?
Covid- 19 did not affect the completion of my project very much. The only way Covid-19 affected my was that it was harder to find all of the materials needed for my project.