How to Remove Stain from Laundry Experiment
A science project for students in 3rd to 6th grades
What happens when you spill strawberry jelly on your white shirt? How are you going to remove the red stain? Well, with this experiment, you’ll learn how you can remove a stain!
Question
What household cleaner will remove the stain the best?
Materials
- Large, old towel
- Old white shirt or socks
- Scissors
- Ketchup
- Grape juice
- 3 eyedroppers
- A patch of grass
- Masking tape
- Hand soap
- Permanent market
- Water
- 5 medium-sized plastic containers
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Bleach
- Dish soap
- Spray bottle
- 2 different kinds of stain remover
Procedure
- You’ll need a stain to be able to get rid of it. Take the scissors and your old shirt or socks and cut out eighteen 2x2 in. squares. Make sure the surface you’re using is easy to clean.
- Place the old towel down and get your masking tape and permanent marker. Write the word “Control” on a piece of tape and put it in the upper left corner of the towel.
- Take one of the eyedroppers and a square of fabric, add some drops of grape juice.
- Take another eyedropper and piece of fabric, add ketchup to this one.
- Take a third piece of fabric and rub it on the grass so it is stained green.
- Put these squares under the “Control” area.
- Repeat this process, staining the other 15 squares. (5 grape juice, 5 ketchup, 5 grass)
- With your first set of squares (set meaning 1 grape juice, 1 ketchup, and 1 grass square) place them in a container of water. Rub a drop of hand soap into the stain and label this area as “Hand soap + water”.
- With the next set of squares, spray the stain with your first stain remover and name this area as the name of the brand.
- Repeat step 9 with the other stain remover.
- With your next set, apply bleach with an eyedropper, then label the area as “Bleach”. Be careful not to get any on your skin. If you do, wash the area with soap and water.
- In the spray bottle, mix 1 tablespoon of the dish soap and 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. Mix the solution in the bottle and spray this combination on your final set, then label.
- Think about which will get out the stain best and which will have the least effect on the stain.
- Give the fabric time to dry. While you’re waiting, take the five plastic containers and label them, using the masking tape, as each stain remover. Fill them with about an inch of warm water.
- Don’t worry about the “Control” area of the towel for now, leave them alone. All the other squares can go in the container that matches their label.
- Come back in the morning after the pieces have been soaking overnight. Set them on the towel and let them dry.
The bleach and the homemade stain remover will probably have done the best job. The store-bought stain remover will probably be pretty close, depending on what kind you bought. Out of all the stains, you’ll see the grass stains were least effected. Hope you enjoyed this science experiemnt.
