2001 Volume 34 Issue 3 Pages 308-312
We determined the residual surfactants, major components of kitchen detergents, on washed tableware by a simple and rapid method to demonstrate the suitability of this experiment as instructional material for home economics in high-school education.
The residual surfactants were determined by the Ethyl Violet method with a simple, portable spectrophotometer.
Among the six pieces of tableware analyzed, which were respectively made of porcelain, clay, polypropylene, lacquer, wood and plastic, the largest amount of detergents residue remained on the wooden cutting board.
The detergent concentration varied with the washing condition in respect of the dilution of the detergent, temperature of water for rinsing, and flow of water.
