SCIEN

CE FAIR

PERMANEN

T SHARPIE

?

CATEGORY:

SOLUTIONS

B Y NA T A L I E

BR I G

G S

STATEMENT OF PROBLEMHow does washing a Sharpie mark with

different kinds of common household cleaning solutions (bleach and detergent) effect how well the Sharpie comes out?

PROJECT OVERVIEWFor my project I made Sharpie marks on

12 pieces of cloth and washed them all in different cleaning liquids (water, bleach, and detergent) and then I dried them.

RESEARCH Discover how permanent Sharpie

markers are Find out how well detergent removes

stains Test to see how well bleach actually

whitens

VARIABLESIndependent Variable: Kinds of Cleaning liquids

usedDependent Variable: How well the Sharpie comes

outOperational definition: gray scale (1-6)Constants: Type of Sharpie, color of Sharpie, type

of cloth, color of cloth, size of cloth, size of Sharpie mark, amount of cleaning material (mL), washing machine, setting, time washed, types of cleaning liquid

Control Group: Cloth washed with water

HYPOTHESISIf Sharpie is washed with detergent then

it will come out more (based on the gray scale) then with just water because detergent is made to get stains out.

MATERIALS Cloth (cotton) 12 Sharpie (black, fine point) Detergent (59 mL) Bleach (59 mL) Washing Machine Water Gray scale (1-6 1=most change 6= no change) Ruler Scissors Measuring cup (metric)

1. Get white fabric (cotton)2. Cut fabric so that each piece is

15.3 cm by 15.3 cm3. Get fine point black sharpie4. Draw square on fabric that is 3

cm by 5 cm and label for test5. Fill washing machine with 4

pieces of fabric and wash for 40 min. in water (control)

6. Put fabric in dryer for 36 min.7. Check mark against gray scale8. Record data in graph9. Fill washing machine with 59

mL of detergent and 4 more pieces of fabric

10. Wash for 40 min11. Put fabric in dryer for 36 min12. Check marks against gray scale13. Record data in graph

14.Fill washing machine with 59 mL of bleach and 4 more pieces of fabric

15. Wash for 40 min.16. Put fabric in dryer for 36 min.17. Check marks against gray scale18. Record data in graph

PROCEDURE

PHOTOS

Water (control group) after wash

Detergent test after wash

Bleach test after wash

1 2 3 4 5 6

OBSERVATIONS None of the liquids had any significant effects on the

Sharpie Bleach only made the Sharpie go away by about 1 degree on

the gray scale Detergent had the same effect on the Sharpie as the bleach

did, reducing the stain by about 1 degree on the gray scale Drying the fabric had no effect on reducing the Sharpie stain

on the gray scale

CONCLUSIONMy hypothesis was correct because detergent got rid of the

Sharpie better than just water. I also found out that bleach can be used to get rid of Sharpie stains and it works as well as the detergent. If Sharpie gets on your clothes I would recommend using bleach or detergent to get rid of it, based on my tests.

POSSIBLE ERRORS Variations of tone in the Sharpie marks Measurements (mL or cm) could have been slightly off Size and placement of Sharpie mark Temperature of water could have been different in the

different loads

APPLICATIONSOne of the ways this experiment could provide better results

could be to wash the fabric more than once and with more cleaning liquid. I would also recommend using a wider selection of detergent or bleach so that possibly more amount of Sharpie would come out. In everyday life I would recommend keeping a wide selection of detergents and bleach available to be used in different situations.

WORKS CITEDNo works cited