To evaluate the effectiveness of Better Life laundry detergent and a comparative product in removing soils from white cotton, purple nylon and orange polyester.
Date Run:
07/26/2019
Experiment Procedure:
Nine 4”x 5” swatches per cleaner, three of each fabric type, were contaminated with motor oil, ink, dirt, and mustard and air dried for 24 hours. Fabrics were washed at 88˚F for 12 minutes per cleaner. Fabrics were placed in a five-minute spin cycle and a nine-minute rinse cycle before drying for 24 hours. A colorimeter was used to take initial, contaminated, and clean measurement values.
SRI = 100 – ((Lc-Lw)2 + (ac-aw)2 + (bc-bw)2)1/2
Where:
L = reflectance
A = redness/greenness
B = yellow/blueness
C = unstained fabric, washed in the treatment conditions
W = stained fabric, washed in the treatment conditions
Trial Results:
Table 1: Results from Cleaner 1
Cleaner
Fabric
Soil
SRI
Average
1
White Cotton
Oil
76.630
72.84
Ink
54.80
Dirt
77.72
Mustard
82.22
Purple Nylon
Oil
93.70
72.48
Ink
80.94
Dirt
23.13
Mustard
92.14
Orange Polyester
Oil
90.30
66.65
Ink
55.77
Dirt
22.39
Mustard
98.12
Table 2: Results from Cleaner 2
2
White Cotton
Oil
82.64
75.12
Ink
57.92
Dirt
81.45
Mustard
78.47
Purple Nylon
Oil
93.79
77.19
Ink
80.74
Dirt
40.62
Mustard
93.62
Orange Polyester
Oil
87.98
84.79
Ink
56.69
Dirt
96.37
Mustard
98.11
Table 3: Cleaner 1 L, a, and b values. % Difference is included
Initial
Clean
% Difference
L
A
B
L
A
B
L
A
B
White Cotton
85.59
-1.23
7.29
63.02
0.82
12.49
26.38
166.76
-71.25
85.55
-1.16
7.32
41.75
0.89
-3.64
51.20
176.79
149.70
85.77
-1.20
7.35
63.54
0.00
6.67
25.92
99.72
9.25
85.53
-1.18
7.50
82.85
-2.42
25.01
3.13
-104.80
-233.47
Purple Nylon
30.00
17.04
-35.60
26.50
16.28
-30.42
11.65
4.46
14.55
30.07
16.84
-35.36
26.63
8.16
-18.75
11.44
51.56
46.98
30.34
26.42
-35.67
29.51
15.50
-33.79
2.75
41.35
5.27
30.27
16.83
-35.58
29.37
12.14
-29.34
2.98
27.88
17.54
Orange Polyester
66.76
26.39
42.40
58.08
30.65
42.36
13.00
-16.14
0.10
66.75
66.75
42.72
39.23
7.55
13.68
41.22
88.69
67.97
66.66
66.66
42.29
64.53
25.76
41.48
3.19
61.36
1.92
66.91
66.91
42.14
66.88
27.81
43.18
0.05
58.43
-2.48
Table 4: Cleaner 2 L, a, and b values. % Difference is included
Initial
Clean
% Difference
L
A
B
L
A
B
L
A
B
White Cotton
85.80
-1.36
7.45
69.54
0.48
13.11
18.95
135.14
-75.94
86.04
-1.26
7.46
44.31
0.89
-3.36
48.51
170.63
145.11
87.15
-0.97
3.95
68.64
-0.03
4.44
21.24
96.90
-12.41
88.41
-0.96
1.58
85.44
-3.35
22.75
3.36
-248.10
-1337.05
Purple Nylon
30.05
16.86
-35.48
26.71
15.94
-30.34
11.13
5.44
14.48
30.28
16.86
-35.59
26.84
8.07
-18.81
11.37
52.14
47.16
30.15
16.84
-35.39
29.07
15.56
-33.89
3.58
7.60
4.25
29.85
16.74
-35.22
28.94
12.88
-30.24
3.05
23.06
14.15
Orange Polyester
66.80
26.23
42.11
55.91
31.24
42.06
16.31
-19.10
0.11
66.92
26.29
42.13
39.49
8.37
13.81
40.98
68.17
67.23
66.56
26.32
41.90
63.62
25.62
39.92
4.43
2.65
4.73
66.95
26.51
42.53
65.94
27.91
42.98
1.51
-5.29
-1.06
Table 5: Average percent change in fabric color
% Change
Better Life Detergent
L
a
b
White Cotton
26.65
84.62
-36.44
Purple Nylon
7.20
31.31
21.09
Orange Polyester
14.37
48.09
16.88
7th Generation Detergent
L
a
b
White Cotton
23.02
38.64
-320.07
Purple Nylon
7.28
22.06
20.01
Orange Polyester
15.81
11.60
17.75
Success Rating:
Results successful using TACT (time, agitation, concentration, and temperature, as well as rinsing and drying) and/or other cleaning chemistries examined.
Conclusion:
Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent was slightly more effective at removing stains than Better Life Laundry Detergent. Neither were considered overall effective at removing the stains from the fabrics.
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