Trial #1
To test the efficacy of two Wipex products in removing synthetic sweat from various substrates in comparison to benchmark products.
There are no related objects.
Prior to testing, the provided lulu lemon yoga mat and the rubber floor tiles were cut into 5 in X 2.5 in coupons to fit the configuration of the Straight Line Washability unit (SLW) that was used to apply manual wiping during the cleaning process. Three coupons of each substrate were assigned to each cleaning product for a total of 12 coupons per cleaning product. Each coupon was weighed using a gravimetric balance and had their initial weight recorded.
A synthetic sweat soil was concocted with organic components commonly found in the content of sweat. The amount of each component was based off known normal levels of the component in sweat of a healthy individual. The contents of the synthetic sweat soil are as follows:
- 1L of water
- 0.5g L-Histidine
- 5g Sodium Chloride
- 2.2g Sodium Phosphate
- 0.4g D-Pantothenic Calcium Salt
- 1.5g Potassium Chloride
- 4.5g Lactic Acid
- 0.5g L-Alanine
- 0.2g Glycine
- 6g Urea
- 0.3g Glucose
- 0.1g Nicotinic Acid (Vitamin B3)
A pipette was used to transfer 1ml of synthetic sweat onto the top center of each coupon. In order to spread a realistically thin layer of synthetic sweat evenly on each coupon, a 7 ml coating rod was used to spread the sweat across the length of the coupon equating to a wet film thickness of 178 microns. Excess sweat was removed via the coating rod. After soiling, the yoga mat coupons were weighed immediately to have their dirty weights recorded, and then immediately cleaned afterwards. This was due to the absorbency of the material, in order to prevent the sweat from absorbing below the surface where the wipes would not be able to come in contact with the soil. The soiled stainless steel, rubber mat tiles and vinyl coupons were left to air dry overnight before having their dirty weights recorded and moving onto the cleaning protocol.
For cleaning, three coupons of the same substrate were placed in the SLW. The one wipe of the corresponding cleaning product was attached to the sled of the SLW. The coupons were then subjected to 20 cycles of manual wiping via the sled of the SLW. This process was repeated until all coupons had been cleaned using the correct cleaning products. The coupons were then allowed to air dry for 2 hours before being weighed and having their final weights recorded.
| Cleaner
|
Substrate
|
Initial wt of cont.
|
Final wt of cont.
|
%Cont Removed
|
% AVG
|
% Overall
|
| Zogics Antibacterial
|
Rubber floor tiles
|
0.5795
|
0.0057
|
99.02
|
98.48
|
76.88
|
| 0.5681
|
0.0161
|
97.17
|
| 1.4680
|
0.0107
|
99.27
|
| Yoga mat
|
0.4182
|
0.1268
|
69.68
|
67.65
|
| 0.4270
|
0.1146
|
73.16
|
| 0.3635
|
0.1450
|
60.11
|
| Vinyl
|
0.0495
|
0.0053
|
89.29
|
83.50
|
| 0.0466
|
0.0099
|
78.76
|
| 0.1391
|
0.0244
|
82.46
|
| Stainless Steel
|
0.0039
|
0.0017
|
56.41
|
57.88
|
| 0.0178
|
0.0057
|
67.98
|
| 0.0067
|
0.0034
|
49.25
|
| Zogics Disinfection
|
Rubber floor tiles
|
1.2488
|
0.0205
|
98.36
|
97.98
|
70.50
|
| 0.2274
|
0.0067
|
97.05
|
| 1.2291
|
0.0180
|
98.54
|
| Yoga mat
|
0.1426
|
0.0315
|
77.91
|
80.77
|
| 0.5672
|
0.1616
|
71.51
|
| 0.0886
|
0.0063
|
92.89
|
| Vinyl
|
0.0115
|
0.0007
|
93.91
|
85.25
|
| 0.1020
|
0.0206
|
79.80
|
| 0.0668
|
0.0120
|
82.04
|
| Stainless Steel
|
0.0121
|
0.0097
|
19.83
|
18.00
|
| 0.0090
|
0.0071
|
21.11
|
| 0.0023
|
0.0020
|
13.04
|
| Wipex Lavender
|
Rubber floor tiles
|
0.7241
|
0.0092
|
98.73
|
99.02
|
63.16
|
| 0.7062
|
0.0107
|
98.48
|
| 1.0800
|
0.0016
|
99.85
|
| Yoga mat
|
0.3199
|
0.0476
|
85.12
|
77.28
|
| 0.3202
|
0.0892
|
72.14
|
| 0.6556
|
0.1667
|
74.57
|
| Vinyl
|
0.0049
|
0.0022
|
55.10
|
58.37
|
| 0.0005
|
0.0002
|
60.00
|
| 0.0005
|
0.0002
|
60.00
|
| Stainless Steel
|
0.0083
|
0.0063
|
24.10
|
17.95
|
| 0.0112
|
0.0100
|
10.71
|
| 0.0021
|
0.0017
|
19.05
|
| Wipex Lemongrass
|
Rubber floor tiles
|
1.1197
|
0.0055
|
99.51
|
99.33
|
77.61
|
| 0.5813
|
0.0006
|
99.90
|
| 0.6651
|
0.0094
|
98.59
|
| Yoga mat
|
0.2740
|
0.1135
|
58.58
|
54.93
|
| 0.5567
|
0.3252
|
41.58
|
| 0.1682
|
0.0595
|
64.63
|
| Vinyl
|
0.0809
|
0.0203
|
74.91
|
65.82
|
| 0.0229
|
0.0075
|
67.25
|
| 0.0387
|
0.0173
|
55.30
|
| Stainless Steel
|
0.0259
|
0.0024
|
90.73
|
90.37
|
| 0.0473
|
0.0019
|
95.98
|
| 0.0109
|
0.0017
|
84.40
|
The Rubber floor mat tiles show a high removal percentage across all wipes. This is likely due to the fact that the tiles have a water repellent coating on the surface. The sweat did not dry onto the surface of the coupons overnight and remained in the form of beads of water that were easily swept off the surface with the wipes.
A percentage removal >74% denotes an effective cleaner. The Wipex Lemongrass and Zogics Antibacterial were both shown to be effective cleaners in removing synthetic sweat across substrates with overall percentage removal scores above 74%. The Wipex Lemongrass showed the most cleaning power of all tested products with the highest overall percentage removal of 77.61% across substrates.
Although the Wipex Lavender wipes did not outperform the Wipex Lemongrass wipes across all substrates, the Wipex Lavender did have a higher efficacy in removing synthetic sweat specifically from the yoga mat material.
Although the Zogics Disinfection wipes did not outperform the Wipex lemongrass regarding its overall percentage removal, it should be noted that this product was highly effective (80% removal and above) in removing synthetic sweat from the highest number of substrates (3; Rubber floor tiles, yoga mat, vinyl). The inability to remove synthetic sweat from stainless steel is what is lowering its overall efficacy. All other wipes tested were only effective for two substrates (substrates vary by product).
No relation