Science StudentScience 91/14/06

Science Project 2005-06

• I noticed that some stains in my clothes left a stronger residue than others

• I noticed that stains that sit longer without attention are much harder to get out

• Some detergents and stain sprays work better than others

• I experimented to figure out which stains are the toughest to get out

• Ketchup• Grass • Grape Juice• Chocolate Syrup• Coffee

• I wanted to know why stains reacted the way they did Ketchup Stain

Ketchup Stain Residue

• Cotton fabric is most commonly used for clothing- best fabric to remove stains from

• Spray n’ Wash removed stains the best

• Apply stain remover before washing

• Use warm water instead of hot or cold

• Most stains are visible to the naked eye

• Never rub the stains

My Research Paper Statements

•If the stains were changed, then the whiteness of the fabric will change. •Welch’s Grape Juice will stain the most out of all the stains •Warm water will remove stains the best•Spray n’ Wash will remove stains the best

Title: The Effect of Stains on Whiteness of Fabric Hypothesis: If the stains were changed, then the whiteness of the fabric will change.  I.V. Stains (types)

D.V. Whiteness of Fabric (gray scale) Constants: (1) 1 yard of fabric (100% white cotton)

(2) ½ cup Detergent (Purex®) (3) Temperature of water (warm wash cycle in electric washer) (4) Amount of wash time (min.) (5) Time detergent and stain spray was applied (min.) (6) Stain remover brand (Spray n’ Wash®)

Control: Unstained piece of same cotton fabric

Levels

Trials

Coffee Grape Juice KetchupChocolate

Syrup Grass

8 8 8 8 8

•I cut the cotton fabric into 41 -10cm x 10cm squares•Labeled each piece with an abbreviation of each stain•Stained each square of fabric with the appropriate stain•Applied stain remover (Spray n’ Wash)•Let them sit at room temperature for 2 hrs.•Placed all the squares with the same stain into the washer and then dryer•Placed them on a white piece of paper and compared them to the grayscale to measure the darkness of the stain after they have been washed and dried

Grass

Grape Juice

Gray Scales

•I created five gray scales (zero meaning darkest and 100 meaning white)•Compared them to the stained fabric after they have been washed and dried•Recorded the data in the data table•Example:

This was a 84 on the gray

scale

100

75

50

25

0

100

75

50

25

0

Grass Stain

The Effect of Stains on the Whiteness of Fabric (the means)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Stain (types)

Whi

tene

ss o

f Fab

ric

(gra

y sc

ale)

Bar Graph: The Effect of Stains on the Whiteness of Fabric•100= white zero= darkest•Ketchup was the strongest stain

• Ketchup stained the most out of all the stains (68.88 on the gray scale)

• Coffee left the least amount of residue on the cotton fabric (86.63 on the gray scale)

• “As the stain type changed, the whiteness of the fabric also changed.”- results statement

After stains and stain spray has been applied

• As the stain type changed, the whiteness of the fabric also changed- this statement supports my hypothesis

• Ketchup left the most stains residue with mean of 68.88 on the gray scale

• Coffee left the least amount of stain residue with a mean of 86.63 on the gray scale

• I have concluded that some stains are stronger and more potent than others Coffee Stain

•Cleaning and identifying the stains immediately would help with reducing the stain- Family Circle, “Super Stain Solutions”•Ketchup has more/stronger color pigments in it making it a very tough stain to remove•Warm water would be best to use, hot and cold water set in the stains- Cold Water and Stain Removal

Chocolate Syrup Stain

Grape Juice Stain

•Perform the exact same experiment again but with cold and hot water•Record data immediately after stains have been removed from the washer/ dryer step•Try experiment with different types and brands of detergents and stain sprays•Important for detergent and stain spray companies to make the best product possible