Dawn on dishes,

What about on ducks?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liz Smith

303 North Bend, Knightdale, NC

Southeast Raleigh High

10th grade

March 29th, 2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

1) Abstract- Page 3

 

2) Introduction- Page 4

 

3) Experimental- Page 5

 

4) Discussion- Page 7

 

5) Conclusion- Page 12

 

6) References- Page 15

 

7) Credits- Page 16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract

 

 

            In this project I am determining if Dawn, a dish detergent, is the best to use when trying to remove oil off of ducks. I choose three different dish detergents; Dawn, Sunlight, and Palmolive.  I bought fake feathers and covered them with used motor oil.  I then put them in a dish with a mixture of dish detergent and water.  I visually determined which dish detergent was the best.  Dawn removed most of the oil and appeared to be the gentlest on the feathers.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

I was inspired to do this project after watching a Dawn dish detergent commercial.  The commercial talked about how the Dawn Company is giving their detergent to environmentalists to help remove oil off of birds involved in oil spills.  The purpose of my project is to prove if Dawn is in fact the best dish detergent to use while cleaning animals, particularly ducks, who have come in contact with crude oil.  Dawn has been said to be one of the toughest dish liquids, but at the same time gentle.  My project will determine if this will be the true while using it on ducks and not just dishes. 

“For more than twenty years, wildlife rescue organizations have used Dawn dishwashing liquid to clean marine wildlife affected by oil spills because Dawn is effective at removing oil while being gentle to the birds' delicate feathers and skin.”  Environmentalists came to use Dawn in 1978.  The International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) was the first group to test the detergent on birds who were covered with oil.  They proved it was the best at removing the oil while it was still mild to the birds’ eyes and feathers.  It was also easy to obtain seeing as some industrial strength products may not be as convenient.  Therefore, from 1979 to today IBRRC and other rescue groups have used Dawn to help clean up the oil spills in the US and around the world.

 I plan to use the results to determine which detergent is the best to use when cleaning birds covered with oil.  The results may also stand true for which is better to use on other animals and your dishes.        

 

Experimental

 

Materials:

   1) 3-13 fl. Oz. dish detergents: Dawn, Palmolive, and Sunlight

   2) 30 fake feathers, 5 inches long

   3) 3 tubs, each 2-liter

   4) 2 gallons of water

   5) 1 cup of crude or used motor oil

   6) Pair of rubber gloves

 

The three dish detergents were Dawn, Palmolive, and Sunlight
 

 

This is a sample of the oil I used.
 
 

 

These feathers were used in the experiment.
 

 

 

 

 

Procedure

1) Fill one tub with 2 cups of water. Put 1 teaspoon of one detergent in the tubs.  Label the tub with the name of the detergent you used.

   2) Put 3 feathers in each tub and dip them in the water

   3) Put on you rubber gloves.  Take the feathers out and rub each set with 1 tablespoon of oil

   4) Put the feathers back into the water solution and let them sit for 5 minutes

   5) Record any observations

   6) Rub the feathers until all of the oil solution has been removed

   7) Determine which detergent did the best job and record your results

   8) Repeat steps 1-6 with the other two detergents

   9) Repeat the entire experiment three times for accurate results

 

In this picture, I am cleaning the feathers.
 
 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion

 

            After performing the experiment, I found that Dawn was in fact the better dish detergent to use.  It removed most of the oil but was still gentle on the feathers.  Dawn performed better in each of the three tests.  It removed most of the oil, was gentle on the feathers and was the fastest at removing the oil than the other two.  The other two dish detergents were Sunlight and Palmolive.  The Sunlight did not perform as well as Palmolive and Dawn.  It took longer than the others and also left more oil.  However, the Sunlight dish detergent was still gentle on the feathers.  The Palmolive detergent was the middle contender in this project.  It did not do as well as Dawn but was better than Sunlight.  On the other hand I did notice that it left the feathers rougher than the other two.  Each of the three times the experiment was repeated it produced the same results.  

 

Test #1

 

Dawn

Palmolive

Sunlight

Removed most

of the oil

1

2

3

Gentlest on

the feathers

1

3

2

Fastest at

removing the

oil

1

2

3

 

Test #2

 

Dawn

Palmolive

Sunlight

Removed most

of the oil

1

2

3

Gentlest on

the feathers

1

3

2

Fastest at

removing the

oil

1

2

3

 

Test #3

 

Dawn

Palmolive

Sunlight

Removed most

of the oil

1

2

3

Gentlest on

the feathers

1

3

2

Fastest at

removing the

oil

1

2

3

 

Dawn was the best detergent in this experiment
 

           

With all of this information, I proved that Dawn was the best dish detergent to use if you wanted to remove oil off of ducks.   It was strong but at the same time gentle.  To be capable to perform like this it must have powerful ingredients.  Naturally the Dawn Company would not give out the exact materials that go into their detergents but did list the ingredients that form the base of all dish detergents.  The main ingredient in all detergents is what’s called surfactants, or surface-active agents.  The combination of them determines the sud-level (amount of bubbles) and how tough they are on cutting grease and dirt.  Some of the other ingredients include stability and dispensing aids, which keeps the products stable under varying conditions, fragrance and color additives, which adds personality to the different types of detergents, and mildness additives that add moisture.  A certain combination of these ingredients will result in a better dish detergent.  Since detergents are not affected by hard water, like soaps are, my results will not be affected.  

            The components in oil also affect the results of this project.  Natural oil makes up 70% to 90% of motor oil.  The natural oil is also called crude oil and it comes directly from the ground.  Companies process the oil to remove any impurities; the more it’s processed the higher grade of the oil.  The motor oil company chooses what grade they want and add certain amounts to get the quantity they desire.  The other 30% to 10% of what makes up oil are additives.  They separate the oil from other oils, as if were made for a certain type of car.  Giant trucks will need different oil than a smaller, more compact car.  Crude oil is the oil that is leaked out when there is an oil spill.  Huge tankers transport it to processing plants.  If there is a leak in the tanker then oil will seep into the ocean.  For my project I choose to use used motor oil.    It was easier to obtain that crude oil but was more like crude oil than new motor oil.  Used motor oil contains the impurities that crude oil does before it is processed.  The Dawn dish detergent had the better ingredients to interact with the ones in the used motor oil.  It was able to break apart the oil and remove it from the oil.

            Ducks have a natural oil of their own.  It helps them become more buoyant on water.  It also is a kind of waterproofing.  Between each layer of feathers is a layer of their natural oil.  This pattern keeps the bird’s temperature up and keeps cold water from getting in.  If there is an oil spill then a duck’s natural waterproofing will be wiped out.  The heavy, black grease will weigh down the duck’s feathers and its natural oil is no longer useful.  The duck now has to work harder to stay afloat and to stay warm.  The oil also disrupts the way the duck breathes and eats.  The oil will get caught in its passageways.  If a duck eats any oil, it will become very ill and may die. A vet cleans up an oil-covered bird 

 
 
           

After an oil spill has occurred, environmentalists rush to the scene.  They work hard to remove as much oil from the affected habitat.  They use Dawn dish detergent to remove the oil from the miserable birds.  They are sure to be careful when handling them because the experience may stress them out and cause them to become even sicker.  The dish liquid is strong enough to help remove the grease but is still gentle enough so that if it gets in the eyes of the birds it will not harm them. 

This bird is being cleaned after it was involved in an oil spill

 
 
           

These environmentalists help rescue birds when their habitat was wrecked by an oil spill. 

 

There were no documented experiments that were done similar to the one I performed.  Seeing as I have no other results to compare it to, my results may not have been accurate.  My opinion on the results may be different than others since I visually determined which detergent did the best job.  The used motor oil I used may have contained impurities that would change the results.  If I were to repeat this project I would design a harder test for the experiment.  The test seemed too vague and was only based on an opinion.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

            Dawn was the best detergent to use if you wanted to rid ducks of oil.  It removed most of the oil but it was still gentle on the feathers.  The precise combination of ingredients in the Dawn dish detergent made it the best for this job. The natural oil of birds protects them from sickness but when subjected to an oil spill it easily causes them to become sick.  Environmentalists use Dawn dish detergent to remove the oil off of the birds and then return them back to the wild.  In 1979, the International Bird Rescue Research Center was the first to use Dawn to eliminate the oil from the ducks’ bodies.  In my experiment I tested three different dish detergents to see which on would remove the oil the best while still being gentle on feathers.  Dawn proved to be the best in this situation.         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

1) Dawn Products Website- 2003. Proctor & Gamble

http://www.homemadesimple.com/dawn/index.shtml

            This website provided me with info about the world of dish detergents.  It led me to sources three and four.  It told me the kinds of detergents and what the Dawn Company does to help the environment.

 

2) Goodwrinch Automotive Co.-2003 May 5. Hearst Communications, Inc.  http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/2002/8/motor_oil/index4.phtml

            This website told me about the components of oil.  It describes the difference between clean and used motor oil ad what ingredients are in them.

 

3) The Soap and Detergent Association- 2001. Soap and Detergent Association 

 http://www.sdahq.org/

            This website explained the basic ingredients in dish detergents.

 

4) Save-a-Duck- 2003. Home Made Simple

http://www.homemadesimple.com/saveaduck/

            This was a part of the Dawn website.  It explained how Dawn gives their product to help save ducks and other wildlife.

 

5) Oil Pollution and Birds- 2002 May 15. Authority of Minister of Environment

http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/hww-fap/hww-fap.cfm?ID_species=89&lang=e

            This website showed me how oil spills can dramatically effect the life of birds and other animals.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credits

 

1) Ms. Krueger- Thanks for helping me.  You gave me great ideas for my topic and suggestions on how to improve my project

 

2) My Parents- Thanks for bugging me so I would not procrastinate too much.  Thanks also for the financial support so I could buy the materials.

 

3) The Nice Man at the Knightdale Tire and Auto- Thanks for giving me the used motor oil.  This gave me more accurate results.