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Trial Number 3

Client Number 527

Project Number 1

Trial Purpose:

To test the efficacy of the best performing reformulation (4% enzyme mix) in comparison to the efficacy of the baseline product.

Date Run:

04/14/2025

Experiment Procedure:

Prep: 5x5 inch white cotton and blue polyester fabric swatches were used for testing.  Each fabric swatch was measured for reflectance, redness/greenness, and yellowness/blueness with a colorimeter 5 times in 3 separate areas (0.5x0.5) where the fabric would eventually be stained.  The three areas were treated as individual coupons.  The 5 measurements for each area were averaged together and used as the representative measurements of the specified area/coupon.  Each area was stained with the correct soil type and left to air dry for 24 hours.  Colorimeter measurements of each stain were then recorded. 

Washing procedure:  The fabric swatches were washed in a washing machine with 45 mL of Liquid Laundry Detergent and 6.5 gallons of water on a normal washing cycle set for a medium load.  The water used has a water hardness level of 63 PPM mg/L.  The washing cycle consisted of a wash step (~12 mins), a rinse step (~14 mins), and a spin step (~5 mins).  Half of the fabric swatches were washed unheated with a temperature range of 60F-85F, while the other half was washed heated with a temperature range of 105F-125F.  The fabric swatches were dried in the drying machine on a heated gentle/tumble setting for 30 mins.  After drying, the colorimeter was used to re measure the 3 staining areas on each fabric swatch.

Analysis:

Detergency:  Unadjusted measure of the percentage the cleaned fabric was returned to its original state (uses only L values/measures of lightness)

% Detergency= 100X((Lclean-Ldirty)/(Linitial-Ldirty))

Where:

L=reflectance (0 black - 100 White)

Trial Results:

Cleaner Temp Soil/Stain Fabric  L Initial L Dirty  L Clean % DET
MS LLD 60-85F Dust + Sebum Cotton 84.48 66.86 82.49 88.71
Polyester 59.49 50.98 57.92 81.55
Clay Cotton 84.53 77.32 82.97 78
Polyester 58.77 78.39 59.6 95.77
Grass Cotton 84.17 66.04 81.81 86.98
Polyester 59.84 49.72 59.67 98.32
Cocoa Cotton 84.26 66.04 82.4 89.79
Blood + Milk + Ink Cotton 84.34 42.15 63.06 49.56
105-125F Dust + Sebum Cotton 85.22 53.55 82.55 91.60
Polyester 58.58 53.7 57.85 85.04
Clay Cotton 89.24 78.24 87.8 88
Polyester 58.56 77.2 59.35 95.76
Grass Cotton 86.05 78.16 84.85 84.79
Polyester 59.56 51.26 59.24 96.14
Cocoa Cotton 88.91 45.2 84.24 89.32
Blood + Milk + Ink Cotton 89 40.76 72.37 65.53
Reformulation (4% enzyme mix) 60-85F Dust + Sebum Cotton 85.83 73.58 85.8 99.76
Polyester 61.04 53.17 59.62 82
Clay Cotton 85.35 76.14 85.75 99
Polyester 60.91 76.97 61.42 96.82
Grass Cotton 86.05 80.94 85.9 97.06
Polyester 61.12 58.33 61.05 97.49
Cocoa Cotton 85.65 45.23 85.38 99.33
Blood + Milk + Ink Cotton 85.77 40.79 83.57 95.11
105-125F Dust + Sebum Cotton 85.85 75.16 85.56 97.29
Polyester 61.04 52.69 59.95 86.95
Clay Cotton 85.65 78.2 85.42 96.91
Polyester 60.24 67.18 61 89.05
Grass Cotton 85.89 78.25 85.59 96.07
Polyester 60.94 57.01 60.91 99.24
Cocoa Cotton 85.58 43.7 85.2 99.09
Blood + Milk + Ink Cotton 85.85 40.47 82.33 92.24

The reformulation performed the same on the dust+ sebum stain on polyester as the original formulation but showed an improved performance from the original formulation on dust + sebum on cotton.  The reformulation improved efficacy across all other stains, most notably the blood + milk + ink stain.

While the addition of heat seems to improve the efficacy of the original formulation, the addition of heat does not seem to effect the efficacy of the 4% enzyme mix reformulation.

The table below compare the reference sample measurements of the MS LLD baseline product provided by the client, the measurements of the MS LLD baseline product tested, and the 4% enzyme mix reformulation measurements.

    Cold Water   Hot Water   
Artificial Stain Stain Removal Index acceptable range Reference Sample (MS LLD)  MS LLD 4% enzyme mix   Reference Sample  MS LLD 4% enzyme mix  
Removal of Dust & Sebum on Cotton  SRI within 10 points- not discernable  77.53 88.71 99.76 Pass 81.43 91.6 97.29 Pass
Removal of Dust & Sebum on Polyester  SRI within 10 points- not discernable  86.78 81.55 82 Pass 88.42 85.04 86.95 Pass
Removal of Clay on Cotton SRI within 11 points- not discernable  61.1 78 99 Pass 60.4 88 96.91 Pass
Removal of Clay on Polyester SRI within 5 points- not discernable  70.91 95.77 96.82 Pass 71.03 95.76 89.05 Fail
EMPA 112 - Removal of Cocoa on Cotton SRI within 9 points- not discernable  30.54 89.72 99.33 Pass 39.77 89.32 99.09 Pass
EMPA 116 - Removal of Blood/Milk/Ink on Cotton SRI within 2.5  points- not discernable  39.77 49.56 95.11 Pass 46.12 65.53 92.24 Pass
Removal of Grass on Cotton SRI within 2  points- not discernable  64.16 86.98 97.06 Pass 71.51 84.79 96.07 Pass
Removal of Grass on Polyester SRI within 2  points- not discernable  68.33 98.32 97.49 Pass 67.69 96.14 99.24 Pass
Overall Cleaning Ability (sum) SRI   499.12 668.61 766.57   526.37 696.18 756.84  

Success Rating:

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

Conclusion:

Increasing the concentration of the enzyme mix (equal parts of each of the 5 enzymes) from 2% to 4% greatly increased the efficacy of the product in removing all stains from both polyester and cotton.  The only stain and fabric type that did not see increased efficacy using the 4% enzyme mix is dust + sebum on polyester.

Although the measurement of the 4% enzyme mix reformulation is not within 5 points of the tested measurement of the MS LLD for the removal of clay on polyester, the measurement of the 4% enzyme mix reformulation is still much greater than the provided reference sample measurement that the 5 point acceptable range refers to.

The overall cleaning power of the 4% enzyme mix reformulation at both temperatures is much greater than the overall cleaning power of the MS LLD sample overall cleaning power and greater than the tested MS LLD overall cleaning power.

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