Method for Determining the Percentage of Allergens Picked Up From a Surface

• US 20090044643A1
• Filed: 08/17/2007
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SC Johnson & Son Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Toxcon Health Sciences Research Centre, Inc.
• Inventors: Gipp, Mark M., Jeng, Chwen-Jyh, Padden, Timothy J., Rogers, Robert E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,976,639 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/866
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/16 Cloths; Pads; Sponges metal scraping sponges A47L13/07

Abstract

A test method is disclosed that can be used to test cleaning products. The test method includes applying a known amount of test material to a surface, cleaning the surface and calculating the amount of allergens picked-up from the surface. The calculated amount of allergens picked-up is then corrected for several measurable variables to provide a more accurate determination of the percentage of allergens picked up with the cleaning product.

Claims

1. A method of determining the amount of allergens picked up by a cleaning product from a surface, the method comprising the steps of:

applying allergens to a surface;

removing a portion of the allergens from the surface;

wherein the cleaning product helps retain the allergens; and

determining a percentage of allergens removed from the surface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the allergens are applied to the surface as a component of an allergen-containing test material.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the allergen-containing test material is dust.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the dust is applied to the surface through a dust containment unit.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the allergens are at least one of:

cat allergens, dog allergens, dust mite allergens, mold allergens, pollen allergens and cockroach allergens.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

applying the cleaning product to a cleaning material;

wherein the applying the cleaning product step is completed before the removing step.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the cleaning material is a cotton cloth.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

advertising the percentage of allergens removed from the surface by the cleaning product.

9. A method of determining the percentage of allergens picked up by a cleaning product, the method comprising the acts of:

applying allergen-containing test material to a surface;

using a cleaning material having cleaning product applied thereon to remove a majority of the test material from the surface; and

calculating a percentage of allergens picked up by the cleaning product.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the act of:

determining a concentration of allergens in the test material.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the act of:

determining a percentage of allergens deposited onto the surface when the test material is applied to the surface.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising the act of:

extracting the allergens from the cleaning product and cleaning material.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the act of:

determining a percentage of allergens extracted from the cleaning product and cleaning material.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising the act of:

correcting the calculated percentage of allergens picked up by the cleaning product by correcting for at least one of;

concentration of allergens in the soil, percentage of allergens deposited onto a test surface, and percentage of allergens extracted.

15. A cleaning product for removing allergens from a surface, wherein the cleaning product removes at least 84% of allergens as determined by the method of claim 14.

16. A method of determining the percentage of allergens picked up by a cleaning product from a surface, the method comprising the acts of:

determining an allergen concentration in a test material (C_{allergen-in-dust});

measuring the mass of the test material (M_dust-PU);

applying the test material to a surface;

removing a portion of the test material with a cleaning product;

measuring a volume of a wash solution (V_PU);

extracting a portion of the allergens from the cleaning product in the solution;

measuring an allergen concentration in the solution (C_allergen-PU); and

calculating an allergen pick up efficiency (PU) using the following equation;

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the act of:

determining an allergen deposition efficiency of the test material (DE).

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the act of:

determining an extraction efficiency of collected allergens extracted into the solution (EX).

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the act of:

calculating a corrected allergen pick up efficiency (PU_corrected) with the following equation;

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the act of:

communicating the corrected allergen pick up efficiency (PU_corrected) to a consumer.