Contemplations, musings and the like

I'm finally done with my SIP report! Although my hypothesis was disproved, I was not unduly perturbed as it was formulated based on substantial, sound literature and was a very reasonable one. The results were not too far off either, as hydrogen peroxide actually came in tops for tannin stains and second for protein, dye and oil stains. On deeper rumination and after more intensive research in the area of stain chemistry, (Miss Tan was absolutely right when she said my SIP required a HUMONGOUS amount of research!), the results were actually not that surprising. This false hypothesis opened up several other exciting and promising avenues for future research, and the results churned out interesting and useful nuggets of information with great practical value and real-life relevance, which are always important considerations when doing any scientific investigation. In fact, I’ve been having fun removing some stubborn stains which have been lying around my house for the longest time. I could hardly believe my eyes when rust stains on my kitchen counter disappeared completely with something as simple, cheap and humble as lemon juice! And, it made perfect sense too – rust stains are alkaline and are therefore neutralized by the acidic lemon juice. Voilà! What makes my SIP even more meaningful is that it promotes the use of natural agents, in contrast to synthetic, commercialized cleaners, which, more often than not, contain environmentally detrimental chemicals. Another plus point for natural cleaners is their low cost. YAY!

Logically speaking, it would be challenging to find a single natural cleaning agent which could remove all stain types equally well at the same time. After all, each stain has its own unique chemical make-up - organic or inorganic, polar or non-polar, acidic or non-acidic, which in turn calls for stain removers with specific chemical structures too. For example, an acidic stain would respond well to an alkaline remover but not to an acidic one. Hence, my experimental results have led me to conclude that, in order to find that elusive, all-in-one, all-purpose stain remover, further experimentation would be warranted, like using a combination of lemon juice and baking soda instead of a single agent, which would widen the scope of action and hopefully remove a wider range of stains.

Since 3% hydrogen peroxide did a fairly commendable job by emerging within the top 2 for all 4 stains, perhaps another experiment could be to test different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. Higher concentrations would have stronger bleaching effects, which theoretically would help to lighten stains even more effectively. However, the drawback is the likelihood of the materials themselves, especially the coloured ones, being bleached irreparably. It would be interesting to test it on white fabric though.

As I’m into environmental conservation, another possible experiment would be to compare the efficacy of natural versus synthetic cleaning agents on different stain types. I’m sure the findings will save not only the environment but also a substantial amount of money on the part of consumers who switch to using natural cleaning agents.