To evaluate K-cup cleaners on the effectiveness of their descaling performance using marble pieces.
Date Run:
08/21/2019
Experiment Procedure:
To test the descaling performance, the marble block test was used. In this test, a marble block is submerged for a period of time in two cleaner solutions. The weight of the marble block was measured before the immersion and after the immersion. Marble is chemically similar to hard water stains in that they both are made up of calcium carbonate. Results can be expressed in the number of grams lost over time during the immersion process. This method is widely used due to its simplicity but has some restrictions. One such limitation is how other soils typically mixed with hard water stains are not taken into consideration.
Several marble chunks of similar size were weighed to determine the baseline weight of each piece. The marble chunks were then immersed into two supplied products at vendor recommended dilutions and allowed to soak for two hours. The marble chunks were removed from the solutions after 5 minutes, and were rinsed to remove any loose material, dried using a Master Appliance Heat gun at 500 F, weighed, and reimmersed into the cleaner. This process was repeated after 10, 15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes. After the full 120 minutes, the marble chunks were removed from both solutions, rinsed, and dried. Final weights were recorded to determine weight loss. Three trials were performed for each supplied cleaner.
Trial Results:
Table 1: Gravimetrics of Each Trial
Trial 1
Cleaner
Temperature (ºC)
Time (min)
Weight (g)
Clean'n Brew Cleaning Cup
80
0
22.8519
5
22.5883
10
22.4663
15
22.3926
30
22.2707
60
22.1433
120
22.0462
Urnex K-cup Cleaning Cup
80
0
17.6657
5
17.6610
10
17.6470
15
17.6468
30
17.6468
60
17.648
120
17.6474
Trial 2
Cleaner
Temperature (ºC)
Time (min)
Weight (g)
Clean'n Brew Cleaning Cup
80
0
18.5314
5
18.3433
10
18.2174
15
18.1207
30
17.9878
60
17.8454
120
17.7225
Urnex K-cup Cleaning Cup
80
0
20.3789
5
20.3834
10
20.3820
15
20.3809
30
20.3803
60
20.3787
120
20.3785
Trial 3
Cleaner
Temperature (ºC)
Time (min)
Weight (g)
Clean'n Brew Cleaning Cup
80
0
18.1032
5
17.8948
10
17.7317
15
17.5885
30
17.3679
60
17.1621
120
17.0944
Urnex K-cup Cleaning Cup
80
0
30.3569
5
30.3356
10
30.3289
15
30.3245
30
30.3239
60
30.3228
120
30.3217
Table 2: Images
Trial
Cleaner
0 min
5 mins
10 mins
15 mins
30 mins
60 mins
120 mins
1
Clean'n Brew Cleaning Cup
Urnex K-cup Cleaning Cup
2
Clean'n Brew Cleaning Cup
Urnex K-cup Cleaning Cup
3
Clean'n Brew Cleaning Cup
Urnex K-cup Cleaning Cup
Table 3: Gravimetric Results
Cleaner
Trial
Initial Wt. Marble
Final Wt. Marble
Wt Loss
% weight loss
Average %wt loss
Clean'n Brew Cleaning Cup
1
22.8519
22.0462
0.8057
3.5
4.5
2
18.5314
17.7225
0.8089
4.4
3
18.1032
17.0944
1.0088
5.6
Urnex K-cup Cleaning Cup
1
17.6657
17.6474
0.0183
0.1
0.1
2
20.3789
20.3785
0.0004
0.0
3
30.3569
30.3217
0.0352
0.1
Success Rating:
A cleanliness study, addressing only various analytical techniques.
Conclusion:
Clean ‘n Brew Cleaning Cup was the most effective cleaner in terms of weight loss in comparison to the Urnex K-cup Cleaning Cup cleaner. Clean ‘n Brew Cleaning Cup had an average weight loss of 4.50%, and Urnex K-cup Cleaning Cup had an average weight loss of 0.1%. Clean ‘n Brew Cleaning Cup would be recommended for descaling.
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