To evaluate K-Cup cleaners on the effectiveness of their descaling performance using marble pieces.
Date Run:
04/10/2019
Experiment Procedure:
To test the descaling performance, the marble block test method was used. In this test, a marble block is submerged for a period of time in two cleaner solutions. The weight of the marble block was measured before the immersion and after the immersion. Marble is chemically similar to hard water stains in that they both are made up of calcium carbonate. Results can be expressed in number of grams lost over time during the immersion process. This method is widely used due to its simplicity but has some restrictions. One such limitation is how other soils typically mixed with hard water stains are not taken into consideration.
Several marble chunks of similar size were weighed to determine the baseline weight of each piece. The marble chunks were then immersed into the two supplied products at vendor recommended dilutions and allowed to soak for 2 hours. The marble chunks were removed from the solutions after 5 minutes, and were rinsed to remove any loose material, dried using a Master Appliance Heat gun at 500 F, weighed, and reimmersed into the cleaner. This process was repeated after 10, 15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes. After 120 minutes, the marble chunks were removed from the solution, rinsed, and dried. Final weights were recorded to determine weight loss, if any. Three trials were performed for each cleaner.
Trial Results:
Cleaner
Trial
Initial wt Marble
Final Wt Marble
Wt Loss
% Wt Loss
Average % Wt Loss
Clean'n Brew Cleaning Cup
1
17.5481
16.6371
0.9110
5.2
6.15
2
14.6839
13.6555
1.0284
7.0
3
14.5792
13.6676
0.9116
6.3
Urnex K-Cup Cleaning Cup
1
12.3633
12.1454
0.2179
1.8
0.6
2
15.9385
15.9223
0.0162
0.1
3
12.0028
12.0027
0.0001
0.0
Success Rating:
A cleanliness study, addressing only various analytical techniques.
Conclusion:
Clean’n Brew Cleaning Cup was the most effective cleaner in terms of weight loss in comparison to the Urnex K-Cup Cleaning Cup cleaner. Clean’n Brew Cleaning Cup had an average of 6.15% weight loss, and Urnex K-Cup Cleaning Cup had an average of 0.6% weight loss. Clean’n Brew Cleaning Cup would be recommended for descaling.
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