It happens everyday. Something spills on your shirt, tablecloth, carpet, or something else. But, instead of frantically searching on the Internet for a complicated way to get rid of a stain, you could just keep your detergent in the refrigerator. Unbelievably, this could help remove a stain.
I did a science fair experiment to find out if the temperature of your detergent could affect stain removal.
My experiment was done on 100% cotton with some of the toughest stains: grape juice, coffee, and ketchup.
When I washed the cotton pieces, I either heated the detergent using a pan, cooled the detergent in the refrigerator, or did both to get it to room temperature. Once the temperature was right, I poured it directly onto the stains and washed using a bucket and water.
Although I used a bucket and water, I researched a washing machine’s washing process and made sure my process was very similar. After three washes, the cotton pieces that had the most stain removed were those that had the cooler detergent temperature.
I also tested different kinds of detergents: a brand name (Tide), a generic (ValuTime Laundry Detergent), a natural (Green Works), and a stainlifter detergent (All). Tide ended up having the most stain removal properties.
Although these stains didn’t remove totally after three washes, they were heavy stains, and the washing process in a bucket wouldn’t work as well as a washing machine’s process. I believe if you keep Tide detergent in the refrigerator and pour and spread it directly on a stain before washing, you may have an easier time getting out the stain.
Good luck!
Justine is MyFixitUpLife’s favorite niece and winner of the chemistry category at the Region 3 science fair competition of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science for her project about stain removal.
