Comparing the efficiencies of different commercial cleaning products in reducing the growth of bacterial flora within the school environment

Sayınalp, Başak (2011) Comparing the efficiencies of different commercial cleaning products in reducing the growth of bacterial flora within the school environment. Other thesis, TED ANKARA COLLEGE FOUNDATION HIGH SCHOOL.

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Abstract

The aims of this extended essay are to identify what types of bacteria are present at school environment and what type of cleaning product is the most effective at decreasing their growth when the surfaces are cleaned manually. In other words, bactericidal properties of various cleaning agents are compared within the scope of this study. My research question is: “Is there a statistically significant mean difference between the selected cleaning products, which are named as soft soap, multi-purpose cleaner 1 and 2, alkaline disinfectant and alkaline surface cleaner, in terms of their bactericidal effects on bacterial flora found in school environment?” It was hypothesized that; there would be a significant mean difference in terms of bactericidal effect in between the cleaning agents used. Alkaline disinfectant would be the most effective, followed by the other alkaline products (alkaline surface cleaner and soft soap), and then the neutral products (multi-purpose cleaners). In order to test the hypothesis, bacterial samples were collected from each student’s desk before and after wiping with each product. According to the variety and amount of bacteria that grow after overnight incubation, types of bacteria present, and bactericidal actions of the products were determined. Amount of bacteria was reported in colony forming units per milliliter, and the units were counted by microbiologists. Resultantly, alkaline surface cleaner reduced the largest number of colony forming units, followed by alkaline disinfectant, soft soap and multi-purpose cleaners respectively. Cheaper multi-purpose cleaner reduced more units than the expensive one, so it was concluded that the expensive was not worth its price. ANOVA results revealed that there was a significant mean difference between the agents in terms of their bactericidal effects, with the alkaline surface cleaner being the most effective, followed by alkaline disinfectant, soft soap and multi-purpose cleaners.

Item Type: Thesis (Other)
Additional Information: Supervisor: Sevim SARAL IB Notu: B
Uncontrolled Keywords: commercial cleaning products,bacterial flora,school environment,biology
Subjects: Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Depositing User: Kamil Çömlekçi
Date Deposited: 22 Jun 2011 06:16
Last Modified: 12 Apr 2019 10:51
URI: http://tedprints.tedankara.k12.tr/id/eprint/152

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