My elevator pitch

Stains are part & parcel of our lives. All of us must have, at some time or other, fought losing battles with stubborn stains which just refuse to come off no matter what we do! How heart-wrenching when we have to discard our favourite outfits!

To make things worse, the media bombards us with endless commercials confidently claiming to have the solution to all stains! These synthetic, commercialized cleaning agents have varying degrees of success, are expensive and contain chemicals which are environmentally detrimental.

My proposed experiment therefore aims to identify an effective, cheap and environmentally friendly cleaning agent, which is an all-purpose stain remover for the four types of stains commonly encountered - protein, tannin, oil and dye stains. The cleaning agents tested are: 5% distilled white vinegar, baking soda, freshly-squeezed lemon juice and 3% hydrogen peroxide.

The Fantastic 4

The hypothesis is that hydrogen peroxide is the best all-purpose stain remover for protein, tannin, oil and dye stains, as it is the most effective in reducing the stain area and lightening the stain colour, by virtue of its bleaching action.

In this experiment, white cloths are stained with 0.2mls of each stain and allowed to set for 3 days, undisturbed at room temperature. The stains used are: meat juice for protein, black coffee for tannin, laksa oil for oil and blue ink for dye. At the end of 3 days, each stain is soaked thoroughly in 15mls of each cleaning agent, before being washed off with running tap water and then left to dry.

To gauge the efficacy of stain removal, 2 parameters are used. Firstly, the difference in stain colour before and after cleaning is documented with a colour chart and rankings assigned. Secondly, the difference in stain size before and after cleaning is quantified using a quadrat, and similarly ranked. The rankings for stain colour and stain area reduction are analysed with the Spearman Rho Coefficient to assess the strength and direction of the 2 dependent variables. The combined rankings will then be used to determine the overall best stain remover.

The recommendations from the experimental findings will no doubt add to the current understanding and knowledge of stain removal, and have great practical value in our ceaseless battles with stains. Furthermore, as this emphasizes the use of cleaning agents, which are cheap, easily available and environmentally friendly, there is no valid reason why you should not feel compelled to invest generously in this promising area of research. In the long run, you could be saving yourself a lot of money & headaches. So, hesitate no more, hand over your $30 000 and I guarantee you will not be disappointed!