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Trial Number 5

Trial Purpose:

The purpose of the experiment is to determine the relative rate of contaminant removal from the cloths by the detergent. This test method stimulates a uniform mechanical standard to properly utilize the solution.

Date Run:

10/06/2017

Experiment Procedure:

White Cotton, White Cotton Polyester, and Purple Nylon fabric were soiled with the sebum, ink, mustard, and tomato sauce. Each contaminant was soiled on three pieces of each type of cloth. Every piece of 4x5 in cloth was spread over a glass beaker and the soil was applied manually. Sample clothes were allowed to dry for a day and dirty gloss readings were taken. They were washed at 85 F for 12 min in the Terg-O-meter at an RPM of 90. One milliliter of detergent was added for 3.5 L of water. After washing, the cloths were rinsed in water and dried for a day. Color readings were taken at the end of the day. The second part of the experiment was to study the effect of the detergent on the color fastness of orange, blue and purple fabric. Each piece of cloth was washed for 15 cycles and color fastness was recorded in terms of gloss values. Final assessment was to look at the fabric texture and rate according to the table listed below.

Grade Observations

SA·5

SA·4

SA·3.5

SA·3

SA·2

SA·1

Very smooth, pressed, finished appearance.

Smooth, finished appearance.

Fairly smooth but nonpressed appearance.

Mussed, nonpressed appearance.

Rumpled, obviously wrinkled appearance.

Crumpled, creased and severely wrinkled appearance.

The cleaning analysis was done by calculating the stain removal index using the equation below:

SRI = 100 – ((Lc-Lw)2 +(ac –aw)2 + (bc-bw)2)1/2

where: L = reflectance, a = redness/greenness, b = yellowness/blueness, c = unstained fabric, washed in the treatment conditions, w = stained fabric, washed in the treatment conditions.

Trial Results:

Change in L value denotes the change in concentration of stain while a and b values denote the spectrum on blue and green shades in the sample. Thus these values denote the amount of stain that the detergent was capable of removing.

 The SRI for all the materials when the test was performed is presented below: 

Table 2: Results from Cloths soiled with Sebum

Cleaner Cloth Initial Cleaned SRI Avg. SRI
L* a* b* L* a* b*
Pak-It All Clear Laundry White Cotton 85.09 -0.29 6.74 84.01 -0.13 8.24 98.28 98.11
84.54 0.07 6.84 83.37 -0.09 8.59 97.77
85.26 -0.26 6.80 84.13 -0.12 8.27 98.27
White Cotton Polyester 88.20 -0.37 0.89 86.41 -0.24 1.22 98.34 98.25
88.12 -0.14 0.83 86.56 -0.33 1.18 98.70
88.28 -0.39 0.78 86.16 -0.36 1.02 97.72
Purple Nylon 39.24 16.99 -28.66 36.46 17.68 -28.57 95.89 97.91
33.39 17.19 -28.42 33.62 16.79 -27.22 99.17
34.86 17.99 -29.41 34.34 17.57 -27.92 98.67
Aqua ChemPac Laundry White Cotton 85.57 -0.38 6.79 83.71 -0.32 8.08 97.44 98.27
85.62 -0.41 6.98 84.83 -0.13 7.76 99.34
85.45 -0.35 6.83 84.23 -0.12 8.37 98.04
White Cotton Polyester 88.08 -0.36 0.71 86.73 -0.16 1.52 98.74 99.05
88.15 -0.37 0.76 86.92 -0.23 1.26 99.11
88.03 -0.37 0.68 87.10 -0.23 1.39 99.31
Purple Nylon 38.67 17.04 -28.52 34.01 18.79 -29.35 87.27 87.62
39.34 16.43 -28.07 34.07 18.74 -29.48 82.45
39.22 16.68 -28.31 35.65 17.66 -28.27 93.15

Both products were effective at removing sebum from cotton and polyester. Pak-It All Clear Laundry was more effective at removing sebum from nylon.

Table 3: Results from Cloths soiled with Ink

Cleaner Cloth Initial Cleaned SRI Avg. SRI
L* a* b* L* a* b*
Pak-It All Clear Laundry White Cotton 85.33 -0.21 6.84 78.67 4.77 32.22 -256.65 -223.58
85.17 -0.2 6.86 77.31 6.46 32.38 -278.70
85.57 -0.34 6.96 80.60 2.42 27.9 -135.40
White Cotton Polyester 87.97 -0.40 0.68 84.65 -0.74 21.94 -131.56 -123.18
87.99 -0.38 0.71 84.61 -0.79 21.26 -116.95
88.08 -0.39 0.70 84.78 -0.83 21.46 -121.03
Purple Nylon 38.93 16.66 -28.43 33.65 15.56 -21.61 62.20 66.77
38.35 16.98 -28.65 33.66 15.62 -22.15 66.95
39.34 16.89 -28.78 33.99 16.16 -23.44 71.16
Aqua Chempac Laundry White Cotton 85.49 -0.34 6.90 80.60 3.67 24.05 -67.06 -186.20
84.84 -0.47 6.91 77.69 6.08 34.28 -321.57
85.57 -0.37 6.61 79.62 4.49 28.54 -169.97
White Cotton Polyester 88.21 -0.38 0.69 84.78 -0.36 20.27 -97.57 -86.47
88.01 -0.36 0.68 85.61 -0.71 16.29 -24.78
88.14 -0.38 0.69 84.29 -0.13 22.12 -137.06
Purple Nylon 39.09 16.50 -28.44 35.55 16.51 -25.36 88.99 86.85
39.08 16.26 -27.63 36.11 16.73 -26.02 94.18
39.37 16.67 -28.42 34.53 15.71 -23.85 77.38

 

Pak-it All Clear cleaner was not as effective at removing tomato sauce as Aqua Chempac Laundry. Both cleaners resulted in negative values for white cotton and polyester. However, Aqua Chempac was successful at removing 86% of the stain in comparison to Pak-it which only removed 66%.  

Table 4: Results from Cloths soiled with Mustard

Cleaner Cloth Initial Cleaned SRI Avg. SRI
L* a* b* L* a* b*
Pak-It All Clear Laundry White Cotton 84.67 -0.05 7.65 86.34 0.93 15.87 64.34 72.69
85.49 -0.03 7.98 87.13 0.76 14.32 78.25
86.22 0 7.82 86.70 1.03 14.73 75.48
White Cotton Polyester 88.81 -0.01 2.75 89.28 0.39 10.68 68.37 45.86
88.95 -0.01 2.75 89.88 0.05 10.12 72.41
89.11 -0.07 2.71 87.93 0.66 17.01 -3.21
Purple Nylon 34.92 15.92 -26.59 38.96 15.63 -24.44 89.49 85.94
34.12 18.70 -29.28 34.63 16.61 -23.88 83.11
38.10 17.05 -27.83 37.38 15.15 -22.79 85.24
Aqua Chempac Laundry White Cotton 83.20 0.18 7.87 83.73 2.25 24.25 -36.44 5.73
84.94 -1.19 10.35 84.59 -1.16 22.73 23.31
85.83 -0.15 8.86 85.37 0.78 20.62 30.31
White Cotton Polyester 83.00 -0.26 2.37 86.76 -0.11 15.94 0.85 -9.17
88.11 -0.34 1.96 87.81 -0.51 14.13 25.89
87.28 -0.32 2.94 84.21 2.19 20.05 -54.24
Purple Nylon 39.52 16.38 -27.51 39.02 16.14 -25.03 96.77 94.45
39.23 16.16 -27.16 38.61 15.38 -24.06 94.70
39.23 16.57 -27.73 38.70 15.39 -23.91 91.87

The supplied cleaner, Pak-it All Clear Laundry Detergent was effective at removing mustard from the different fabrics. Overall Aqua Chempac Laundry Detergent was not as effective as the supplied cleaner. However, it was marginally more successful at removing mustard from nylon fabric.          

Color Fastness Test

  Initial Cleaned Difference Avg. % Difference
Cleaner Cloth L* a* b* L* a* b* ∆L ∆a ∆b ∆L ∆a ∆b
Pak-It All Clear Laundry Orange 58.81 53.09 55.44 56.35 50.34 52.01 4.18 5.18 6.19 4.27 5.34 6.29
58.66 53.63 56.00 56.22 50.99 52.69 4.16 4.92 5.91
59.00 53.90 56.29 56.36 50.71 52.47 4.47 5.92 6.79
Blue 54.98 -4.12 -27.67 54.44 -3.71 -27.74 0.98 9.95 -0.25 0.54 8.47 -0.23
55.18 -3.98 -27.72 54.67 -3.66 -27.76 0.92 8.04 -0.14
53.85 -4.45 -27.77 54.00 -4.12 -27.85 -0.28 7.42 -0.29
Purple 39.29 17.67 -28.21 38.18 16.79 -27.33 2.83 4.98 3.12 2.79 4.06 1.78
40.23 17.24 -27.84 39.41 16.47 -27.31 2.04 4.47 1.90
40.13 17.49 -27.90 38.72 17.01 -27.81 3.51 2.74 0.32

 .

  Initial Cleaned Difference Avg. % Difference
Cleaner Cloth L* a* b* L* a* b* ∆L ∆a ∆b ∆L ∆a ∆b
Aqua Chempac Laundry Orange 58.97 53.90 56.28 55.82 50.10 51.45 5.34 7.05 8.58 4.25 5.91 7.05
56.39 51.43 51.76 54.95 48.96 49.11 2.55 4.80 5.12
58.93 53.32 55.63 56.07 50.19 51.49 4.85 5.87 7.44
Blue 54.42 -4.31 -27.73 54.41 -3.66 -28.13 0.02 15.08 -1.44 0.57 13.22 -1.51
54.63 -4.00 -27.99 54.14 -3.48 -28.39 0.90 13.00 -1.43
54.92 -3.97 -27.94 54.48 -3.51 -28.40 0.80 11.59 -1.65
Purple 40.13 17.68 -28.30 39.67 16.60 -27.60 1.15 6.11 2.47 2.44 5.85 2.72
39.92 17.46 -27.97 38.36 16.32 -26.95 3.91 6.53 3.65
39.85 17.33 -27.65 38.95 16.48 -27.09 2.26 4.90 2.03

 

Aqua Chempac Laundry caused more of a change in color than the Pak-It All Clear Laundry

Visual and Texture Results after Cleaning:

 

Cloth Type Pak-it All Clear Laundry Detergent Aqua Chempac Laundry Detergent
Orange 3.50 3.33
Blue 4.10 3.94
Purple 3.50 3.05

 

 

 

 

 

Summary of Stain Removal Index (SRI) Results:

Cleaner Cloth Soil SRI Avg. SRI
Pak It All Clear Laundry White Cotton Mustard 72.69 -61.81
Tomato Sauce -223.585
Ink -194.46
Sebum 98.11
White Cotton Polyester Mustard 45.86 -67.65
Tomato Sauce -123.18
Ink -291.52
Sebum 98.25
Purple Nylon Mustard 85.94 75.24
Tomato Sauce 66.77
Ink 50.35
Sebum 97.91

.

Cleaner Cloth Soil SRI Avg. SRI
Aqua Chempac Laundry White Cotton Mustard 5.73 -229.47
Tomato Sauce -186.20
Ink -835.68
Sebum 98.27
White Cotton Polyester Mustard -9.17 -93.88
Tomato Sauce -86.47
Ink -378.95
Sebum 99.05
Purple Nylon Mustard 94.45 73.52
Tomato Sauce 86.85
Ink 25.18
Sebum 87.62

 

Success Rating:

Results successful using TACT (time, agitation, concentration, and temperature, as well as rinsing and drying) and/or other cleaning chemistries examined.

Conclusion:

In comparison to Aqua Chempacs, Pak-it All Clear Laundry Detergent was more effective in removing sebum and mustard from the three different types of fabrics. Both cleaners were unable to clean tomato sauce and ink from white cotton and white cotton polyester fabrics, but were slightly effective in cleaning the soils from purple nylon cloths. Pak-it All Clear Laundry caused less of a change in color and produced better texture ratings than the comparative cleaner.

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