Trial Purpose:
To determine effectiveness of various cleaning liquids on soiled floor tiles using mechanical equipment.
Date Run:
07/27/2010Experiment Procedure:
A set of 21 two inch by four-inch coupons were selected for comparison of seven cleaning alternatives. Coupons were evaluated using gravimetric analysis for weight removal and a BYK Spectro Guide gloss/color meter to determine clean baseline. The coupons were then soiled, and readings were taken to determine the soiled baseline values of tiles previously coated with Hucker's Soil Formulation (Jiffy Creamy Peanut Butter 9.2%, Salted Butter 9.2%, Arrowhead Mills stone ground wheat flour 9.2%, Egg Yolk 9.2%, Evaporated milk 13.8%, Distilled water 45.8%, Printer's ink with boiled linseed oil 0.9%, Shaws saline solution 2.7%).
Three coupons were placed into a Gardner Straight Line Washability unit. An Americo Red Buff floor maintenance pad was installed. Upon the completion of the cleaning, final weights and L-values were recorded. The L-values and gravimetric readings were used to determine how close the cleaned coupon was to the original appearance.
The cleaning process was repeated using hot water (120 F), hot water (140 F), Zep Commercial Neutral Floor Concentrate (1 oz/gallon~0.78%). Zep Commercial Neutral Floor Concentrate @ 5 % concentration in tap water, Commercial Neutral Floor Concentrate @ 10 % concentration in tap water, cold water and electrolyzed water (supplied via an ActiveIon unit).
Trial Results:
The inline cleaning results showed cleaning for each fluid tested. Based on gravimetric and L-value readings, the neutral cleaner at the 10% concentration had the highest removal of soil. Gravimetrically, the electrolyzed water was the next best followed by hot water. The Alkaline cleaner @ 0.78% had the same performance as cold water. The L-value results were not as conclusive. All of the products tested were found to be nearly identical except the top performing product.
| Process | Initial wt | Final wt | % Removed | Ave Removal | Rank |
| Hot water @ 120°F | 0.0465 | 0.0120 | 74.19 | 75.63 | 4 |
| 0.0279 | 0.0089 | 68.10 | |||
| 0.0266 | 0.0041 | 84.59 | |||
| Hot water @ 140°F | 0.0544 | 0.0130 | 76.10 | 80.27 | 3 |
| 0.0569 | 0.0096 | 83.13 | |||
| 0.0396 | 0.0073 | 81.57 | |||
| Alkaline cleaner @ 0.78% | 0.0406 | 0.0154 | 62.07 | 68.38 | 7 |
| 0.0496 | 0.0139 | 71.98 | |||
| 0.0398 | 0.0115 | 71.11 | |||
| Alkaline cleaner @ 5% | 0.0409 | 0.0081 | 80.20 | 71.57 | 5 |
| 0.0476 | 0.0103 | 78.36 | |||
| 0.0349 | 0.0153 | 56.16 | |||
| Alkaline cleaner @ 10% | 0.0476 | 0.0052 | 89.08 | 93.28 | 1 |
| 0.0300 | 0.0005 | 98.33 | |||
| 0.0344 | 0.0026 | 92.44 | |||
| Cold water | 0.0348 | 0.0118 | 66.09 | 68.38 | 6 |
| 0.0282 | 0.0070 | 75.18 | |||
| 0.0227 | 0.0082 | 63.88 | |||
| Electrolyzed water | 0.0251 | 0.0041 | 83.67 | 87.65 | 2 |
| 0.0323 | 0.0044 | 86.38 | |||
| 0.0282 | 0.0020 | 92.91 |
Soil removal by light-dark
| Process | Initial L-Value | Dirty L-Value | Final L-Value | % decrease | % cleaned | Ave L value | 40 cycle inline cleaning |
| Hot water @ 120°F | 82.03 | 25.67 | 52.41 | 31.29 | 63.89 | 61.15 | 3 |
| 85.02 | 33.85 | 52.25 | 39.81 | 61.46 | |||
| 85.16 | 31.08 | 49.49 | 36.50 | 58.11 | |||
| Hot water @ 140°F | 83.58 | 30.48 | 50.75 | 36.47 | 60.72 | 59.79 | 6 |
| 85.29 | 31.83 | 51.04 | 37.32 | 59.84 | |||
| 84.78 | 34.54 | 49.86 | 40.74 | 58.81 | |||
| Alkaline cleaner @ 0.78% | 85.27 | 33.32 | 48.68 | 39.08 | 57.09 | 59.55 | 7 |
| 85.24 | 29.91 | 50.02 | 35.09 | 58.68 | |||
| 84.39 | 30.14 | 53.07 | 35.72 | 62.89 | |||
| Alkaline cleaner @ 5% | 85.90 | 31.32 | 60.36 | 36.46 | 70.27 | 60.80 | 4 |
| 81.63 | 28.62 | 48.31 | 35.06 | 59.18 | |||
| 85.46 | 29.56 | 45.25 | 34.59 | 52.95 | |||
| Alkaline cleaner @ 10% | 81.98 | 30.05 | 66.39 | 36.66 | 80.98 | 88.31 | 1 |
| 81.80 | 28.98 | 76.21 | 35.43 | 93.17 | |||
| 81.33 | 33.07 | 73.83 | 40.66 | 90.78 | |||
| Cold water | 81.90 | 30.44 | 48.32 | 37.17 | 59.00 | 62.31 | 2 |
| 85.73 | 30.05 | 52.09 | 35.05 | 60.76 | |||
| 82.57 | 32.07 | 55.47 | 38.84 | 67.18 | |||
| Electrolyzed water | 84.96 | 30.78 | 51.95 | 36.23 | 61.15 | 60.44 | 5 |
| 81.18 | 31.30 | 48.44 | 38.56 | 59.67 | |||
| 82.33 | 31.25 | 49.81 | 37.96 | 60.50 |
Success Rating:
A follow up test, usually based on company input.Conclusion:
The gravimetric analysis compared more closely with the expected outcome of hard floor cleaning than the L-value readings. In both cases, however, the top performing product was identified as being the 10% Neutral cleaner.
