PURPOSE

The purpose of this experiment was to see which commercial stain remover would remove stains on cotton fabric the best.

I became interested in this idea when my mom was doing the laundry and I saw my brother’s shirt had spaghetti stains all over it.  That gave me the idea that I needed to see which stain remover would work best, so that we could remove most of the stains off of his shirt.  Then his shirt will stay nice for a longer amount of time. 

The information gained from this experiment may be useful for anyone who needs to know which stain remover works best on cotton fabric.  When people get stains on their clothing they need to know which stain remover to buy so their clothes will last longer. Buying new clothing can be an additional cost for consumers.
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My hypothesis is that Spray ‘N’ Wash is going to remove all stain types more completely than other brands of stain remover.

I base my hypothesis on the experience of Mary Headley, because she has been cleaning stains from clothes for over 40 years.  She believes that Spray ‘N’ Wash works best.
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The constants in this study were:
the same kind of cotton
the size of cotton fabric piece
the amount of stain put on the cotton
the amount of stain remover
the amount of time the stain was washed 
the temperature of water the cloth was washed in
the amount of time in the colorimeter

The manipulated variable was the different types of stain remover used. 

The responding variable was the whiteness of the cloth as measured by a colorimeter (which showed the amount of stain removed.)

To determine the whiteness I used a colorimeter at Tree Top Laboratories.
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The purpose of this experiment was to see which commercial stain remover removed the stain on white cotton fabric the best.

The results indicate my hypothesis should be accepted because Spray ‘N’ Wash did remove more of the stain on white cotton fabrics than the other did. 
 
 
 

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My hypothesis is that Spray ‘N’ Wash is going to remove all stain types more completely than other brands of stain remover.

The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted because Spray ‘N’ Wash did remove more of the stain on white cotton fabrics than the other did. 

Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if I used a different stain remover if it would have worked better.  Also, if I had used a whiter cloth, would it have shown that the stain was removed better?

My findings will be useful to others who want to remove stains from clothing. Hopefully, they will not have to go buy a new outfit because of a stain. 

If I were to conduct this project again I would have bought a whiter cloth and used another stain remover, like Shout.  I also would have had a bigger cloth so more of the stain could be spread and soaked in the cloth.  The amount of time it sat would have been different because when you get a stain on your cloths it usually sits at least a day or two. (When I put them in the baggy I should have put each two in one bag so that they can’t touch other elements.)
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RESEARCH REPORT Introduction Removing stains from clothing can be very difficult and usually it is.  Consumers spend thousands of dollars replacing clothing because of stains. A stain is to discolor or soil cotton fabrics.  Cotton Cotton is a natural vegetable fiber, also used largely because of the fibers.  The strength, absorbency, and capacity to be washed and dyed is very good.  Cotton is adaptable to consider a variety of textile products.  Economic importance’s as raw materials for clothe.   Cotton is woven a certain way to make it wind and water-resistant.  Some finishes disappear with laundering but most don’t require a special treatment. Saponin A saponin is natural occurring, oily glycoside foam, that forms freely when shaken with water.  The saponin has fire-extinguishing fluids in it.  It is used in fire extinguishers because of the fluids.  The saponins are big on foam producers.  They are in a wide variety of plants.  Some of the plants they are in are: acacia, soapwort, soaproot, and California pigweed. Soap Soap is made from animal and vegetable fats, oils, and greases which are mixed with a strong base or alkali.  Soap is used as a cleansing agent or detergent.  It is most commonly a cleansing agent used by humans. Water alone doesn’t get through dirty or oily surfaces well. Soap consists of sodium sterates in water, which forms sterate ions.  Soap reacts with calcium ions in hard water so it forms a scum of calcium sterate. Detergent A detergent usually refers to an organic chemical substance that is made with carbon.  Detergent is the salt of sulfonic acid, which then forms sulfonate ions in water.  Detergent is also a chemical based petroleum, which removes dirt in saponifacation.  The ions don’t react with calcium ions, so a result is found that a scum is not formed. Oxygen sulfur and hydrogen compounds combined with water clean soiled materials.  Soap has a different chemical makeup but is considered detergent also in a sense is a substance that cleans soiled materials. Type of Stains Some stains that are common on clothing are: bloodstains, grass stains, mud or dirt stains, grape juice stains, red wine stains, regular coffee stains, mustard stains, ketchup stains, and spaghetti stains. Type of Stain Remover Some stain removers that are commonly used are Shout, Spray ’N’ Wash, and Wisk.  The ingredients on Spray ‘N’ Wash are enzymes, surfactants, stabilizers, preservatives, fragrance water (contains no phospherates). The ingredients on Wisk are cleaning agent, (anionic and non-ionic, surfactants, enzymes), water softener, (sodium citrate), stabilizers, buffering agents, perfume, brightening and colorant.    Summary A stain remover is very important to people because people don’t like to go out and buy new clothes just because they got a stain on them.  People end up spending lots of money because of stains. A stain is to discolor or soil cotton fabrics. A saponin is natural occurring oily glycoside foam that forms freely when shaken with water.  Soap is made from animal and vegetable fats, oils, and greases.  Cotton is a natural vegetable fiber also used largely because of the fibers.  The fibers in the cotton make it so that when a stain gets on there it soaks in.  Detergent is the salt of sulfonic acid, which then forms sulfonate ions in water.

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