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Trial Number 2

Trial Purpose:

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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