First, a total set of 18 coupon tiles were obtained, 3 coupons each for the two substrates used times the three supplied cleaners. The initial weights of the coupons were acquired in order to use it as a baseline. The coupons were then soiled using 0.5g of DCC-17 soil. DCC-17 soil consists of: 33% vegetable shortening, 33% lard, 33% vegetable oil, and 1% carbon lampblack. The soiled coupons were then allowed to sit overnight for 24 hours in order for the soil to age. The next day, the dry dirty weight was then recorded for each coupon. The specified cleaners were used to test their cleaning effectiveness on the VCT and the Painted VCT floor tile coupons. The manner in which they were cleaned was as follows. Three coupons were placed into a Gardner Straight Line Washability unit. A Wypall X60 reinforced wipe was attached to the cleaning sled and soaked with 1 spray of cleaning solutions. Each coupon was sprayed 2 times with the same cleaning solution. The solution was allowed to penetrate for 30 seconds followed by cleaning in the SLW unit for 20 cycles (~33 seconds). At the end of the cleaning, coupons were wiped once with a dry paper towel to assist in drying. Final weights were recorded and efficiencies were calculated and recorded.
The best cleaner found during our testing was determined to be the Laurinex product at an overall cleaning average of 77.92% followed by the Purple Tiger with an overall cleaning efficiency of 75.29%. It was found that the worst performing cleaner was the 7th Generation All Purpose product with an overall cleaning average of 69.14%.