ALL CONTENTS 1

My Inquiry on Stain Removal models the real world event of stains on fabric

(Appendix 1). In this experiment, I used seven different but common stains and test a

typical household solution to a store-bought one to figure out the best solution on 100%

cotton fabric. Though this is a fairly accurate model of stains, because most of the

stains I tested were typical and the majority of fabrics for clothing are made of cotton,

there were many points in which this was not an ideal model. First, I only tested seven

stains. In the real world, there are a countless number of stains that anyone on a normal

day could encounter and it would depend on their lifestyle, line of work, living conditions,

etc. as to what that “normal day” would look like. Also, I used two specific stain

removers with an extremely simplified way of removing the stains (soaking and drying).

If this model were to be a true representation, I would have included a commercial

laundry soap and/or powder and used a washing machine in the procedure of cleaning

the material. Lastly, I used only 100% cotton fabric. Though most clothing and

household fabrics contain cotton, few are 100% but rather contain polyester or nylon or

spandex along with other arrays of fabric types. So I would need to do more research to

find out the makeup of typical t-shirts or tablecloths or whatever it was specifically I

wanted to test. So the basis and idea behind the inquiry was a model of the real world

event of staining, but in order to make it an even more realistic model I would need to

make some changes.

 Appendix

Appendix Item 1: Inquiry Writeup on Stain Removal

STAIN REMOVAL
Comparing pH value of stains with effectiveness of stain removers.

Inquiry II
Dakota Davis
8 March 2014
ABSTRACT

Stains are an inevitable part of everyone’s life. Stains are a discoloration of fabric

produced when foreign matter chemically reacts with the material. Therefore, the key to

removing the stain is to find something that will emulsify the grease/oil so that the

staining particles will be lifted from the fabric and dispersed elsewhere. The trouble

comes in figuring out what the best solution is to this problem. Some claim that a

common kitchen substance, white vinegar, is the best and least expensive stain

remover. Others however say that a cleaning product that contains enzymes is the most

effective because it has been proven by science and research (which is always a

comforting factor to consumers). I tested household vinegar and enzyme filled OxiClean

as my stain removers on common stains to evaluate the difference in effectiveness on

stains of different pH values, assuming that as a factor. By testing stains of differing pH

values with different stain removing techniques however, I was not able to find a direct

relation between pH value and stain removing effectiveness.

INTRODUCTION

Being in a household with younger siblings my whole life, I have seen many

stains on our clothing. From grass and dirt, to spaghetti sauce and chocolate, to blood

and other bodily fluids, various stains have come across my path. So out of curiosity

and the thought of having my own messy children one day, I have always wondered

what the best and/or least expensive option for removing these stains. I have heard of

methods that use one of the store bought sprays, or common household items like

baking soda or vinegar, or even fancy enzyme substances.

 Proteolytic enzymes are effective stain removers for most stains that fall in the

pH range of 4-12, but I would be interested to see if it is still more effective than vinegar

with pH values under 4 and above 12 (William Gray). Scrolling through multiple blogs

about stains, I found that vinegar is one of the most common household stain removers

and works for a variety of stains (Reader’s Digest; Huffsteler; Vinegar-Laundry Tips).

Though I could find no specific research on why it is that vinegar is so efficient, I did find

out a little about its chemical properties. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which is a good

chemical for breaking down alkalis which if combined with some citrus juices will cause

a permanent stain (Furry).

In my research, I found that enzymes work best for stains that are primarily

composed of proteins (Chemistry of Cleaning). However, proteins have such a wide

range of pH values which is why these enzymes are said to be effective from values of

4-12 (William Gray). This does not ensure though that every stain in that range will be

effectively removed by the enzymes, especially if they are not protein based, so the

purpose of this experiment is to assess whether the pH value of the stain will effect

which stain remover is most efficient.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

When encountering common household stains, what is the most effective way to

remove them? Does an expensive spray such as OxiClean work more effectively than a

white vinegar on stains? Does the pH value of a stain effect the effectiveness of either

cleaning method? If so which pH value of stains are the cleaning methods most

effective with? I will use seven different but common stains and test a typical household
solution to a store-bought one to figure out the best solution. I predict that the more

acidic the source of the stain is, the less effective the OxiClean will be, but the vinegar

will remove (at least partially) all of the stains no matter the pH value because vinegar is

listed as the main stain removal ingredient for most common stains (Taylor). The

independent variables for this experiment are the amount of original staining material

and amounts of stain remover, both of which were kept constant to ensure uniformity in

all trials; the dependent variable is the opacity change of the stain on the fabric which is

my measurement of removal.

MATERIALS

The materials I used for this experiment consisted mainly of the staining substances

themselves along with the fabric to stain them on. The equipment used to measure the

data was a simple pH probe and a basic color opacity chart.

1 Vernier Lab Quest

1 pH probe and DI water

1 yard of cotton fabric

1 bottle of OxiClean Max Force Gel Stick

1 bottle white vinegar

2 mL Classico tomato sauce

2 mL hot chocolate (cocoa powder in hot water)

2 mL pomegranate juice

2 mL red wine

2 mL lemon/lime juice
2 mL Starbucks blonde roast coffee

2 mL brake fluid

1 color opacity chart (see figure 1 below)

Figure 1: Color Opacity Chart

PROCEDURE

The yard of fabric will be cut into 21 equal size strips (about 28x10cm), allowing 3

strips per staining substance. I took the pH values of each staining substance as well as

the vinegar and OxiClean and record the data in a table. I applied equal amounts of

each staining substance to the allotted three strips of fabric and do this for each

substance. Let the stains sit in fabric for 30 minutes, enough time for the stains to dry,

then measure the opacity of the stain color using a color opacity chart (Figure 1). After

the half-hour is finished, I applied equal amounts of vinegar to 1 square of each staining

substance, equal amounts of OxiClean to one of the other strips and saturated the other

in tap water and let those sit overnight, for 8 hours. After the 8 hours is up, I placed all

of the squares into a bucket filled with hot tap water, 93°C. I let them sit for 30 minutes

in the water as the water cooled to room temperature, then laid them out to dry. After
they had dried, I again compared the color opacity of the stain using the chart in Figure

1.

DATA

The following data shows the pH values of the staining substances used as well as the

changes in opacity of the stains over each stage of the stain removing process: original

opacity, after the stain remover is applied and has sat for the 8 hours, and after the

fabrics soaked in the water and dried.

Figure 2: Table of pH Values

Staining Substance pH Value

Tomato Sauce 4.4

Wine 3.96

Coffee 5.65

Citrus Juice 2.81

Brake Fluid 9.46

Pomegranate Juice 4.35

Hot Chocolate 5.85

Figure 3: Graphs of Opacity Changes

tomato
Vinegar-Opacity Changes wine
coffee

80% citrus

70% brakefluid
pomegranie
60%
Opacity

chocolate
50% 50%
40%

20% 20% 20%

10% 10% 10%
0% 0%
INITIAL AFTER APPLYING VINEGAR SOAKED IN WATER WITH VINEGAR

Stage of Stain Removal

tomato
OxiClean-Opacity Changes
wine

coffee
80%
citrus
70%
brakefluid
60%
pomegranie
Opacity

50%
chocolate
40% 40%

30%

20% 20% 20%

10% 10% 10%

5%
0%
INITIAL AFTE APPLYIG OXICLEAN SOAKED IN WATER WITH OXICLEAN
Stage of Stain Removal
ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

The substances used to stain the fabric ranged in pH value from 2.81-9.46

according to Figure 2 which gives a total range of 6.65 so a wide variety of values is

present. The initial opacities of the stains also vary widely from 10%-80% so there was

an assortment of starting points for the stain removers to work with. The procedure

allowed me to compare the opacities of the stains after setting in, after 1 application of

the stain remover, and then again after rinsing. Had I stopped after just applying the

stain remover, I would have concluded that the enzyme-filled OxiClean was actually the

least effective stain removal methods. After rinsing however, though four of the stains

had the same results for both the vinegar and the OxiClean, two of them (the deepest

opacities) were actually removed more effectively by the OxiClean. According to

research, different proteolytic enzymes work different degrees of effectiveness on

stains. Alcalase, Maxatase, Protease AP, Protease ATP 40, and Rapidase are the most

effective enzymes in this group (William Gray). OxiClean’s website lists their “Max Force

Gel Stick” as having both the Alcalase and Protease enzymes which indicates that it

should be an effective stain remover (OxiClean).

The stain that was the least affected by either method was the tomato sauce. For

stains of this nature (tomato based) it is recommended that you use a pretreatment

solution, dry laundry detergent, and bleach to remove these stains (Univ. of Illinois). The

reason detergents work so well with stains like tomato sauce is because of the

surfactants present in them. Surfactants attract opposing liquid particles and allow them

to be lifted from the fabric without mixing back together again (Chemistry of Cleaning).
The OxiClean contains some of these surfactants, but surprisingly actually removed

less of the stain then did the vinegar. The reason this might have been the case is

because when using enzymes for cleaning, if there are other alkalis present, the

enzyme will no longer function as a catalyst (Furry).

Looking the pH values in relation to the stain removal, I could find no specific

trend for effectiveness. For the stains that both removed completely: coffee, citrus juice,

brake fluid, and chocolate, the pH values were all completely different: 5.65, 2.81, 9.46,

and 5.85 respectively (Figure 2). Comparing the graphs in Figure 3, the trends for the

stain removal were very similar and most of the stains have the same ending point with

only the pre-rinsed stage differing. Even for the stains in which the OxiClean was more

effective, the pH values were not the same, differing by 0.39, but merely close in value.

CONCLUSION

Looking at the data I collected, I could find no absolute connection between pH

value of the stain and effectiveness of the stain remover for the methods and stains I

tested. In all cases tested, both the vinegar and the OxiClean were able to remove most

of the stain, highest ending opacity being 20%. The stains which did show a

discrepancy in effectiveness, tomato sauce, wine, and pomegranate juice, had no

correlation to a certain pH value. All three of these stains did stay within the range of

3.96-4.4 which is considerably small, but there is not enough evidence to suggest that

this is anything more than a coincidence.

SHORTCOMINGS/REVISIONS

In this experiment I only tested seven different stains, a few of which had similar

pH values so in a future experiment I would want to test a much larger and wider variety

of stains. Also, I only used two methods of stain removal, neither of which involved a

washing machine. I would want to test whether adding in that extra piece of equipment

would make a significant difference on the outcome of stain removal. In the research I

did for my analysis I found that it was not so much that pH value had an effect on the

stain removal effectiveness, but the actual chemical makeup of the staining substance;

so a stain like blood, which I didn’t test in this experiment, is best removed by an

enzyme stain remover because both substances contain combating enzymes (Taylor).

So in another study, I would test the stain removers against stains of similar chemical

makeup to determine effectiveness.

RESOURCES

"The Chemistry of Cleaning Clothes" 25 August 2009. HowStuffWorks.com.

<http://science.howstuffworks.com/the-chemistry-of-cleaning-clothes-

info.htm> 20 February 2014.

Furry, Margaret S. Stain Removal from Fabrics: Home Methods. Washington, DC: U.S.

Dept. of Agriculture, 1942.

"Homemade Stain Removal Solutions." Reader's Digest. 07 Mar. 2014.

Huffstetler, Erin. "Vinegar as Stain Remover." Frugal Living. About.com 07 Mar. 2014.
"OxiClean™ Max Force™ Gel Stick." OxiClean. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.

Taylor, Susan. "Stain Solutions." University of Illinois Extension. University of Illinois

Board of Trustees, 2014. <http://web.extension.illinois.edu/stain/>. 04 Feb. 2014.

"Vinegar Tips - Laundry." Vinegar Tips - Laundry. Mizkan American's Inc., 07 Mar.

2014.

William, Gray F. "Patent US3637339 - Stain Removal - Google Patents." Google Books.

25Jan.1972.<http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPAT3637339&id

=JlE2AAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=stain+removal&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q=v

inegar&f=false>. 05 Feb. 2014.