Ecofriendly Laundry Detergents Project

Ecofriendly product science fair projects tackle so-called ecofriendly products...

Ecofriendly

Ecofriendly is a term that is used to describe things that are supposedly good for the environment, or at least that are benign. This project tests how friendly these products really are.

Objectives/Goals

"If plants are watered with eco-friendly laundry detergents and regular laundry detergents then the plants being watered with eco-friendly laundry detergents will grow normally and the plants being watered with regular laundry detergents will weaken or die." The problem was "Can you water your lawn or plants with discharge water from a washing machine to conserve water?"

Methods/Materials

The experimental procedure began with planting three plants each in five planters using the same soil. Four solutions of water and laundry detergent were mixed, two regular (Tide and All) and two eco-friendly (7th Generation and Ecos). The fifth solution was the control solution, water. The plants were watered regularly with the solutions. Each week, the plants' sizes were measured and their conditions noted. The soils were tested for pH, Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus levels.

Results

For 7th Generation, two plants grew and one plant died. For All Detergent, all plants grew. For Tide, one plant died while two plants grew. For Ecos, two plants died and one plant grew. For water, one plant died and two grew.

Conclusions/Discussion

The hypothesis for this project was proven wrong because the plants watered with eco-friendly laundry detergents did not grow better than the plants watered with regular laundry detergents. Ecos, an eco-friendly detergent, caused the most damage to the plants. Tide, a regular detergent and 7th Generation, an eco-friendly detergent, did not seem to affect the plants negatively or positively. All, a regular detergent, seemed to benefit the plants' growth and performed similarly to the control solution, water. 3rd party contributor