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21.
Wednesday, June 169:37 PM

Dissolve the Stain

  • Stain removers work in four ways. The first, and most common, way stain removers work is by simply dissolving the stain with either a solvent or surfactant. In fact, many stains can be removed by flushing them with water, which is a universal solvent. Water does not work to dissolve all stains, however. Grease stains, such as those made with butter, must be removed with something stronger and organic, such as an alcohol-based stain remover. Another popular organic solvent found in many stain removing products is Limonene. It is a molecule found in most citrus fruits which is great at dissolving stains, including inks and wax.

    Surfactants lift stains rather than diluting them out. They work by surrounding the molecules in the stain and loosening them. This in turn makes the stain easier to flush away with a solvent. Many people choose to treat a stain first with a surfactant spray before washing it. Most work quite well at removing stains. However, the majority of these sprays are made with synthetic surfactants and are quite toxic to the environment.

  • Eat the Stain

  • Tougher stains that are not easily dissolved can be "eaten," or "cut up." This is done by oxidizing the stain. Oxidizing removes the links holding the stain molecules together, which in turn allows the solvent to wash them away. Chlorine bleach, borax, and peroxide are all oxidizing agents.

    Another way to remove the links holding the stain molecules together is to use a biological, or enzyme-based stain remover. These literally "eat" away the links by digesting the fat and proteins in the stains. They are safer for the environment, but cannot be used on wool or silk fabrics.

  • Hide the Stain

  • Some stain removers work by simply "hiding" a stain. Although the stain molecules remain in the fabric, you cannot see them because they have been made colorless. Bleach is one such stain remover. It works by interrupting the bonds between the light-absorbing molecules, which has the effect of removing all color in both the stain and surrounding fabric. For this reason, bleach is usually only used on white clothing, and as a last resort if a stain cannot be removed by other means.

  • http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4679648_stain-removers-work.html

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    20.
    Sunday, June 133:02 PM
    Enzymes are proteins that are found in every living organism: man, animals, plants and microorganisms. Nature — including human digestive systems — relies on enzymes to break down proteins, starches and fats. The same types of enzymes can be used in detergents to break down the stains that bind to fabrics.
    • Specific enzymes attack a different stain
    • Many detergents contain multiple enzymes
    • More enzymes mean cleaner and whiter wash
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    19. Control
    Wednesday, June 99:34 PM




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    18. Homemade
    9:23 PM




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    17. Vanish
    9:15 PM




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    16. Select
    Sunday, June 612:38 PM




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    15.
    Saturday, June 55:59 PM
    I'm still measuring the other brands. takes me close to an hour to do one -.-

    I need to correct my method. Instead of using 3ml for the oil and coffee, I used 1ml because I realised when I measured it, how much 3ml actually is. And trust me, it was a lot. LOL and to think I was gonna use 5ml x_x

    Oh, and I used the averages of three points on the makeup ring because it wasn't exactly consistent



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    14.
    Wednesday, June 25:43 PM
    I washed the fabrics last week and here are the results for homebrand. you can't really compare yet because i haven't done the other brands














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    13.
    Thursday, May 135:03 PM
    Edited some parts but still not entirely satisfied :/

    Method:
    1. Cut material into 20, 5cm by 5cm, squares and take a photo of one cloth

    2. Label each piece with the name of each pre-wash stain remover and the stain, in the corner

    3. Measure 3ml of Vegetable Oil and pour onto center of cloth

    4. Use an eyeliner pencil and draw a 3cm diameter circle with a compass, on another cloth

    5. Squeeze a dollop of tomato sauce and rub it into the third cloth

    6. Pour 3ml of Black Coffee (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Instant-Coffee) onto the 4th cloth

    7. Repeat steps three to six, 4 more times. There should now be 5 of each stain, totaling to 20 cloths all together.

    8. Let the stains soak in overnight

    9. Take a photo of each cloth, the next day, with the same light conditions (In a dark room with only camera flash etc)

    10. Spray the Woolworths Homebrand Pre-Wash Stain remover on each of the 4 stains and leave it for 5 minutes

    10. Repeat with the other solutions

    11. Leave 4 stained pieces of material as a control

    12. Place all 20 pieces into the washing machine with the setting as quick warm wash (results may vary depending on the washing machine) and wash as normal

    13. Take it out and hang on the clothes line for 2 hours

    14. Take another photo of each cloth in the same lighting conditions

    15. Upload each individual photo of before and afters

    16. Open up a photo editing program such as photoshop and use the eyedropper tool on the middle of each stain.Computers define color by measuring the amount of red, green, and blue in a pixel on a scale from 0 to 255. If the amounts of red, green, and blue in a pixel are all 255, then the pixel is pure white.

    17. Add the numbers up for each picture and compare. The one with the greatest red, green and blue number difference between the before wash and after wash picture is the best pre-wash stain remover

    16. Record numbers and pictures in the table below

    Types of Stains

    BRAND OF STAIN REMOVAL

    Oil on white cloth

    Make-up on white cloth

    Tomato Sauce

    Coffee on white cloth

    Woolworths Home Brand

    Woolworths Select

    Vanish Preen

    Home-made stain remover

    Control


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    12.
    Saturday, May 88:20 PM
    Ok, second try. This is a first draft. Needs to be revised D:

    Method:
    1. Cut material into 20, 5cm by 5cm squares and take a photo of a cloth

    2. Label each piece with the name of each pre-wash stain remover and the stain

    3. Measure 5ml of Vegetable Oil and pour onto center of a cloth

    4. Use an eyeliner pencil and draw a 3cm diameter circle with a compass, on another cloth

    5. Squirt a 2cm line of tomato sauce on the third cloth and smudge it in with fingers, making sure everything stays on cloth

    6. Pour 5ml of Black Coffee (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Instant-Coffee) onto the 4th cloth

    7. Repeat steps three to six, 4 more times. There should now be 5 of each stain, totaling to 20 cloths all together.

    8. Let the stains soak in overnight

    9. Take a photo of each cloth with the same lighting conditions.

    10. Spray the Woolworths Homebrand Pre-Wash Stain remover on each of the 4 stains and leave it for 5 minutes

    10. Repeat with the other solutions

    11. Leave 4 stained cloths as a control

    12. Place all 20 pieces into the washing machine with setting quick wash (results may vary depending on the washing machine) and wash as normal

    13. Take it out and hang on the washing line for 2 hours

    14. Take another photo of each cloth in the same lighting conditions


    16. Record numbers and pictures in the table below

    Types of Stains

    Brand of Stain Removal

    Oil on white cloth

    Make-up on white cloth

    Tomato Sauce

    Coffee on white cloth

    Woolworths Home Brand

    Woolworths Select

    Vanish Preen

    Home-made stain remover

    Control



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    11.
    Friday, May 77:55 PM
    Haven't been on, in one or two weeks because I didn't know what to post about. Nothing has been happening. I'm gonna start my experiment next week, after all the half yearly tests are over. I still need to figure out a way to measure how much stain is left afterwards. I'm not sure :/

    Method (to be edited):
    1. Cut up white cotton material in to 10cm by 10cm squares
    2. ...

    omg. i dont know the information. it's on the other computer. might as well write it up tomorrow =="
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    10.
    Monday, April 191:48 PM
    I didn't end up doing my experiment yet because I haven't bought ammonia. Is ammonia and cloudy ammonia the same thing? o.o

    Well anyways, I finished photoshopping my graph - took me an hour
    Right at the end, I realised the temperature lines were opposite colour -.- but it doesn't really matter right? :S






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    9.
    Friday, April 1612:26 PM
    I can never think of a title for a post so I might as well just start numbering them. I found this recipe for a homemade pre-wash stain remover and it seems pretty good, except where can i get ammonia and what does it look like? o.o

    This amazing homemade pre wash solution works better than expensive store-bought pre wash solutions. Mix together 2 pints of warm water, 2 teaspoons of liquid detergent, and 4 tablespoons of standard ammonia. Pour the solution into a clean spray bottle, and spray stains before washing stained laundry. Allow the mixture to soak into stains for 10 to 15 minutes, and wash the fabrics as instructed on labeling. Store this pre wash solution in a spray bottle, and spray it on every stubborn stain. This homemade pre wash solution definitely works like magic, and if it won't remove stubborn laundry stains, nothing will.

    Aldi doesn't sell pre-wash stain removers -.-

    Homebrand Pre-Wash Stain Remover - $1.60 or $3.20 per Litre
    Select Pre-wash Stain Remover - $3.76 or $7.52 per Litre
    Vanish Preen Fabric Stain Remover - $4.21 or $11.23 per litre

    The Select and the Vanish one are both enzyme powered. I have no idea what that means.
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    :/
    Wednesday, April 1411:41 PM
    I went spotlight the other day to get my material. I ended up getting a Flat Fats (that's what it says on the label) which is made in India with 100% cotton hahaha. I'll cut them up into 10x10cm squares which will leave me with around 25 squares. I think mum's doing the washing on Saturday so I'll most likely make my stains on Friday, giving it time to soak in.

    I also got 3 pre-wash stain removers- Homebrand, Woolworth's Select and Vanish Preen. I'm planning to go Aldi to see if I could get another one there. I'm also going to make a home made one too. I'll list the prices of each one when I get all of them. I have a feeling the most expensive one isn't going to be the best one. We'll just have to wait and see.

    Aim: To find the most effective pre-stain remover on oil, make-up and coffee.
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    srppp
    Wednesday, April 72:31 PM
    whoa it's been some time since my last post. I'm failing this already -.-
    I'm gonna write myself a note.

    anyways. nothing much has been happening. maybe that's why i haven't been blogging.
    I need to go spotlight to get my materials probably tomorrow or some time soon. In fact, I'm gonna ask mum now

    hmm, I'm gonna cut out squares 10x10cm of material for each test.
    theres gonna be three common stains - coffee, makeup, and oil
    the following brands will be tested - Woolworth's Homebrand, Woolworth's select, Vanish Preen, Orange Power and another home made one.
    umm im not sure if i should so more materials or just the cotton one. maybe denim? i'll just have to look around spotlight and see if theres anything else.

    note to self - blog more often, go spotlight, find recipe for home made stain removal thingo, find an effective way to measure the stains afterwards, finish the graph we did in class
    D:
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    last post before first blog submission
    Tuesday, March 99:38 PM
    stain removal test

    independent variables - the brand of pre-wash stain remover

    dependent variables - how much of the stain is left after one wash

    control variables
    - size of white cotton cloth
    - equal stain size
    - same wash time and temperature

    still thinking :)
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    decision time
    Sunday, March 73:08 PM
    I think I'm gonna do the stains testing experiment for my srp. but i heard a lot of people did it last year. so it's not exactly unique/different :(
    I could either test:

    - different types of stains on the same type of material. e.g. wine, chocolate, oil etc. on a plain white cloth

    - the same stain on different types of material. e.g. oil on denim, plain white cloth and silk?

    - or both <--- i want to do this one but it means more work
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    more ideas :)
    Monday, March 18:59 PM
    It's been a while since I last posted.. ugh
    Anyways, I came up with two more possible ideas

    1. Which brand of stain removing powder thingo works best. I guess this would be fun-ish. I would need to create my own stains. e.g. common stuff like oil, make-up, paint/highlighter/pen marks :L

    2. If the wavelength of light affects the growth of plants. In this case, I'll get different coloured cellophane to wrap around eCh plant. It'll act as a kind of filter...

    do you need to reference here? just in case... i got those ideas from http://community.boredofstudies.org/129/year-10-school-certificate/199377/science-student-research-project-any-ideas/2.html
    rofl

    If i were to pick one of the two, i would probably do number 1 because it seems less boring :S

    I'd still rather do the hand sanitisers one but there is no way i can do that. Reasons are:
    - I have no microscope nor am i gonna buy one just for this
    - I don't know how to get just common hand bacteria to test, because you can't really grow mould to test this. I don't think you would normally have mould on your hands anyway
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    ideas?
    Wednesday, February 109:31 PM
    ooohhh it'll be cool to find out whether hand sanitizers actually kill 99.99% of germs.
    but i have no idea how i would be able to do that LOL
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    helpppp
    8:28 PM
    im having a little trouble...
    how do you get a "follow me" button????
    D:
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    :))))))))
    Monday, February 89:30 PM
    HELLO world
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