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Trial Number 0

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:

08/17/2015

Experiment Procedure:

White cotton, white cotton polyester and purple nylon were soiled with the motor oil, mustard, Crisco, and grape juice. Each contaminant was soiled on three pieces of each type of cloth. Every piece of 4x5 in cloth was spread taut 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 approximately85 °F for 12 min in the Terg-O-meter at an RPM of 90 using tap water with hardness of 150ppm. One milliliter of detergent was added for 2 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. The cleaning analysis was done by calculating the stain removal index.

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.

Table Fabric Smoothness Grades by SA Replica Equivalents Description
Grade Observations
SA•5 Very smooth, pressed, finished appearance.
SA•4 Smooth, finished appearance.
SA•3.5 Fairly smooth but nonpressed appearance.
SA•3 Mussed, nonpressed appearance.
SA•2 Rumpled, obviously wrinkled appearance.
SA•1 Crumpled, creased and severely wrinkled appearance.

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.

Thus the SRI for all the materials when the test was performed with supplied detergent is calculates as:
Table 2: Results from revised Gain detergent

Cloth Soil SRI Average
Purple Nylon Motor Oil 97.04 95.92
  Grape Juice 92.74  
  Mustard 99.14  
  Shortening 94.76  
White Cotton Polyester      
  Motor Oil 96.37 81.53
  Grape Juice 42.71  
  Mustard 97.48  
  Shortening 89.56  
White Cotton Motor Oil 93.76 83.96
  Grape Juice 70.31  
  Mustard 92.62  
  Shortening 79.13  

The SRI for all the materials when the test was performed with comparative detergent 1 is:

 

Table 3: Results from Arm & Hammer detergent

Cloth Soil SRI Average
Purple Nylon Motor Oil 95.37 96.64
  Grape Juice 98.59  
  Mustard 94.66  
  Shortening 97.92  
White Cotton Polyester      
  Motor Oil 68.73 67.12
  Grape Juice 70.66  
  Mustard 57.79  
  Shortening 71.28  
White Cotton Motor Oil 80.71 86.31
  Grape Juice 93.78  
  Mustard 74.49  
  Shortening 96.29  

The SRI for all the materials when the test was performed with comparative detergent 2 is:

 

Table 4: Results from Purex detergent

Cloth Soil SRI Average
Purple Nylon Motor Oil 96.82 93.13
  Grape Juice 88.23  
  Mustard 88.86  
  Shortening 98.62  
White Cotton Polyester      
  Motor Oil 88.16 86.82
  Grape Juice 97.75  
  Mustard 63.75  
  Shortening 97.62  
White Cotton Motor Oil 78.13 83.9
  Grape Juice 93.85  
  Mustard 65.8  
  Shortening 97.81  

The results of the color fastness test were as follows:

Table 5: Color fastness test of product detergent

  Initial Reading Final reading      
Cloth color L a* b* L a* b*
Purple 39.77 13.07 -25.6 41.96 6.57 -20.09
  40.09 13.05 -25.67 41.91 6.63 -20.25
  39.77 13.06 -25.59 41.74 6.62 -20.05
  40.17 13.09 -25.77 47.07 6.62 -20.21
Orange 57.42 48.69 50.92 59.87 44.98 54.97
  57.34 48.58 50.66 60.08 44.97 54.97
  57.41 48.65 50.91 59.85 44.92 54.74
  57.42 48.8 50.92 60.03 44.78 54.9
Blue 53.52 -6.3 -26.09 56.33 -13.71 -18.98
  53.18 -6.3 -26.14 56.04 -13.76 -18.97
  53.27 -6.35 -26.1 55.96 -13.7 -19.11
  53.16 -6.27 -26.18 54 -6.02 -26.82

Table 6: Color fastness test of comparative detergent 1

  Initial Reading Final reading      
Cloth color L a* b* L a* b*
Purple 40.2 13.04 -25.65 39.36 13.2 -25.79
  40.32 13.05 -25.75 40.06 13.01 -25.5
  40.25 13.14 -25.82 40.07 13.49 -26.14
  40.01 13.05 -25.58 40.18 13.16 -25.61
Orange 57.54 48.42 50.63 58.18 50.92 53.74
  57.52 48.61 50.76 57.83 50.72 53.37
  57.52 48.67 50.68 58.12 50.75 53.62
  57.34 48.43 50.48 58.1 50.92 53.64
Blue 53.04 -6.25 -26.24 53.62 -5.87 -26.99
  53.39 -6.27 -26.07 54.18 -6.01 -27.16
  53.36 -6.24 -26.15 53.86 -6.07 -26.59
  53.39 -6.25 -26.24 53.83 -6.01 -26.83

Table 7: Color fastness test of comparative detergent 2

  Initial Reading Final reading      
Cloth color L a* b* L a* b*
Purple 40 12.95 -25.51 40.21 13.37 -25.92
  40.33 13.04 -25.78 40.14 13.53 -26.24
  39.99 13 -25.43 39.85 13.31 -25.77
  40.25 12.5 -24.97 39.64 13.12 -25.41
Orange 57.44 48.83 51.13 57.92 50.75 53.51
  57.44 48.34 50.32 57.91 50.51 53.08
  57.36 48.47 50.41 57.81 50.31 52.44
  57.29 48.22 50.27 57.8 50.63 53.23
Blue 53.38 -6.25 -26.11 56.05 -13.68 -18.88
  53.53 -6.32 -26.02 56.19 -13.72 -18.86
  53.5 -6.29 -26.09 56.18 -13.74 -18.88
  53.38 -6.34 -26.05 56.07 -13.74 -18.92

Average percent change in fabric color:

  % Change
Supplied L a* b*
Purple 0.453 -3.586 -1.623
Orange -0.832 -4.304 -5.014
Blue -122.787 27.553  
Comparative 1      
Purple -8.044 49.416 21.466
Orange -4.46 7.739 -7.95
Blue -4.315 -86.948 19.755
Comparative 2      
Purple 0.689 -1.107 -0.233
Orange -1.005 -4.73 -5.836
Blue -1.084 4.198 -2.743

Fabric Condition:

Product Comparative 1 Comparative 2 Supplied
Fabric Orange Blue Purple Orange  Blue Purple Orange Blue Purple
Sample 1 3.5 4 3 2 5 3.5 5 5 4
Sample 2 3.5 3.5 3 3 5 3.5 5 4 5
Sample 3 4 3.5 4 4 5 4 4 3.5 3.5
Sample 4 3.5 3 3.5 3.5 4 3.5 3.5 4 5
Sample 5 3 3.5 3 3 5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5
Sample 6 3 3 4 2 5 3.5 4 3.5 4
Sample 7 3.5 3 3 3 5 4 5 4 4
Sample 8 3.5 4 3.5 3.5 5 4 5 3.5 3.5
Sample 9 3.5 3.5 3 2 4 3.5 4 4 3.5
Average 3.4 3.4 3.3 2.9 4.8 3.7 4.3 3.9 4
Overall Average 3.4     3.8     4.1    

Success Rating:

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

Conclusion:

As can be seen from the experiment the supplied product revised Gain was slightly less effective but performed very close in comparison to the comparative product Purex Dirt Lift Action at an average of 87.14 and 87.95 SRI respectively for all soils from the three fabrics types. Both products were more effective in cleaning the soils than the comparative product Arm & Hammer Clean Burst at 83.36 SRI. There were some slight changes in color readings before and after the 15 cycles with both revised Gain and Arm & Hammer Clean Burst but insignificant change for Purex Dirt Lift Action. Revised Gain had mostly loss of color from the blue fabric whereas Arm & Hammer had loss of colors in all three fabrics. When the smoothness of the cloths after washing were manually determined and analyzed, it was concluded that the supplied product leaves the fabrics smoother with finished appearance (4.1) which is slightly better than the Purex product at a rating of 3.8. Arm & Hammer was only able to achieve a fairly smooth but non pressed appearance (3.4).

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