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Trial Number 0

Trial Purpose:

To evaluate odor elimination from athletic equipment

Date Run:

03/31/2016

Experiment Procedure:

To determine the best odor eliminating product out of a selection of 4 cleaners, Febreeze, Funk Away, Sweat X, and Aquavert.

The items were first smelled and ranked in order of best to worst smelling. The items were divided into sections for which each cleaner would be used. The cleaner was smelled to know its scent and then applied to the items. Each experimenter took turns smelling and determining whether the odor had been covered. If the odor persisted more cleaner was applied, until it was completely covered. The same procedure took place on the 2nd and 3rd day.

Trial Results:

    Initial Ranks of Odor by experimenter Number of applications
Substrate Cleaner A B C D Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
Pad Funkaway 5 2 5 5 3 1  
Sweat X 2 1 1
Aquavent 4 2  
Febreeze 1    
Hat Funkaway 2 3 2 2 1    
Sweat X 2    
Aquavent 1    
Febreeze 2   1
Footcover Funkaway 3 4 4 4 2 1 1
Sweat X 3 1  
Aquavent 3 1  
Febreeze 1 2  
Boxing glove Funkaway 1 1 1 1 4 3  
Sweat X 3    
Aquavent 4    
Febreeze 3 3  
Boxing helmet Funkaway 4 5 3 3 2    
Sweat X 1 1  
Aquavent 2    
Febreeze 1    

Observations

Substrate Cleaner Observations
Pad Funkaway
Sweat X Leaves white residue, smell cleaner
Aquavent Odor returns
Febreeze Smelled of chlorinated water
Hat Funkaway Best smell 
Sweat X Leaves smell of cleaner
Aquavent  
Febreeze Easy to soak fabric
Footcover Funkaway Odor returned after sometime
Sweat X Rubber smell, persistent odor
Aquavent  
Febreeze  
Boxing glove Funkaway  
Sweat X Leaves rubber scent, persistent odor
Aquavent  
Febreeze Odor hard to rid of
Boxing helmet Funkaway Odor hard to rid of
Sweat X Rubber smell after application
Aquavent Persistent odor
Febreeze  

Legend

  Cleaner Ranking:
Best 1-Febreze 
  2-Funk Away
  3-Sweat X
Worst 4-Aquavent

Success Rating:

Results successful using TACT (time, agitation, concentration, and temperature, as well as rinsing and drying) and/or other cleaning chemistries examined.

Conclusion:

The cleaners were found to work quite effectively, some better than others. The Febreeze was the best, perhaps because it was the best smelling, and it gave the sense that it had really eliminated the odor from the substrate. There was one instance where the odor came back--for the hat--on the third day although it was covered the second day. The least effective had to be Aquavent, also in part due to its scent. It somewhat smelled like chlorinated water, probably leading to the assumption that the odor was instead replaced by another smell. When compared, Funk Away and Febreeze, head-to-head on the most prominent smelling item, which was the glove, they did almost the same. Although, it took Funk Away 4 sprays the first day in comparison to 3 for Febreeze. They both required 3 sprays to cover the smell the second day and the odor did not return the third day for either.

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