FINDING THE BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY

DETERGENT FOR CLOTH DIAPERS

Wesley and Natalia Anderson

BACKGROUND MATERIALS AND METHODS Figure 1

Using cloth diapers is a great way to maintain a healthy environment and avoid further
environmental pollution. Therefore, it is important to identify a detergent that will clean cloth
diapers in an eco-friendly manner while using cold water. Cloth diapers have many benefits
including: the following: “cloth diapers save you money, aren’t even a fraction as taxing on the
environment, and help to rid us all of the disposable nation mindset that we’re all in” (Sakurra,
2020, p.1). Though good for the environment, cloth diapers are not completely eco-friendly
since they require washing and required energy. Using cold water only to wash clothes can
help save both money and energy (Energy, 2020). The heating of water takes a lot of energy
and by using cold water only, energy used by washing machines is significantly reduced. The
less energy used by a washing machine the better for the environment. Since the coronavirus
pandemic, the number of parents using cloth diapers has grown remarkably higher due to the
shortage of disposable diaper options (Breen, 2020). The main goal of this experiment is to
find a way for parents and others who use cloth diapers to conserve energy while helping the
environment in the process.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Hypothesis:
If we use different detergents, we will get different results each time with respect to cleanliness.
Independent Variable:
The detergent brand
RESULTS
Materials
• 5 different detergents (Persil Stain Fighter, Purex, Gain, Arm and Hammer) Detergents
• The leading detergent in the project overall was Persil Stain Fighter detergent. Wash trial
Baby food comparisons using Persil stain fighter had an average of 9.56 on the scale of cleanliness,
• Washing machines
and the pleasant detergent fragrance was noticeably maintained throughout trial testing.
• Cloth diapers
• Baby food (Gerber chicken)
• The second-best detergent results came from All detergent, averaging 9.06 on the
Method(s) cleanliness scale. Diapers washed by this detergent had a pleasant fragrance although less
1. Applying baby food to each cloth diaper (180 in total cut from larger diapers to make washing more efficient). noticeable than Persil Stain Fighter.
2. Splitting the diapers into thirty groups of 6.
3. Writing the detergent name that will be used to clean each diaper on the outside of each one using a sharpie. • The third detergent was Purex with an average of 9.00. The diapers had a pleasing scent;
4. Completing 30 trials using each detergent 30 times on one cloth diaper per trial. however, trace amounts of baby food residue was noticed.
Diapers
5. Only using cold water to wash the diapers to remain environmentally friendly.
6. Record the amount of cleanliness of each diaper by observing each one (each diaper was given a rating 1-10 • The fourth detergent was Gain with an average of 8.60 due to the amount of baby food
based on its visual cleanliness and smell) and recording the results the science Notebook
remaining after washing. Occasionally, there was a slight stench resulting from the baby
Notebook.
food.
7. After evaluating the data, a conclusion will be formed and recorded it in the science journal as well as all the
trial averages • The fifth detergent was Arm & Hammer with an average of 8.50 due to the amount of
residual staining through trials. On multiple occasions, the diapers would smell foul
retaining more baby food stains versus other detergent trials.
Before Wash After Wash
• Last was the control of the experiment which used cycle settings only without detergent.
The diapers washed with no detergent had an average of 6.43 for cleanliness. Diapers
washed using these conditions typically had a significant pungent odor and were largely
covered in stains.
Best Detergent

Dependent Variable:
Results

The cleanliness of the diaper

CONCLUSIONS
Persil

Control(s):
- Diaper brand
- Washing machine The hypothesis was forthright: If different detergents were used then there would be different
Figure 2 Figure 3
- Cycle used results each time with respect to cleanliness. Each detergent used had similar results ranging from
8-10 in cleanliness. The main goal of this experiment is to find the most effective and eco-
friendly detergent available in stores. The best results came from Persil stain fighter with the
average wash being a 9/10 to 10/10 in cleanliness and smell. This detergent rarely left residue
throughout the trial process with negligible amounts of staining and/or slight stench for worse
outcomes. The second and third most effective detergents were All and Purex. Then the least
No Detergent Results

effective detergent was Arm & Hammer. The control, of course, had the worst results. More
common detergents such as Downy and Tide were not used in any trials. An identified oversight
was not utilizing more common detergents such as Tide in the trial process.

Instead of testing detergents, the preference would have been to create an eco-friendly detergent
Cleanliness Averages that does not negatively impact the environment while using a more efficient washing machine.
*The following averages represent the scores given to the diapers based on smell and physical
cleanliness* Along with this method, it would have been preferred to study the electricity and water
consumption aspects versus cleanliness and smell.
*All the following photos were taken by Natalia
Figure 4 Figure 5 and Wesley Anderson*

REFERENCES
Breen, k., 2020. Cloth Diaper Businesses See Boom Amidst Coronavirus Pandemic.
Cleanliness
CleanlinessValues
Valuesfor
forAll
AllTrials
Trials [online] TODAY.com. Available at: <https://www.today.com/parents/cloth-diaper-
businesses-see-boom-amidst-coronavirus-pandemic-t176690> [Accessed 3 December
Trials 1-30 2020].

Energy, H. M. (2020). How Much Energy Does My Washing Machine Use?

Cleanliness

Retrieved September 10, 2020, from https://www.directenergy.com/learning-

center/how-much-energy-washing-machine-use

Sakurra, K. (2020, February 03). Best Cloth Diapers: A Complete Buyer's Guide [For 2020]
" NatureCode. Retrieved October 02, 2020, from https://naturecode.org/best/cloth-
diapers/

(This graph contains data collected from all trials)