Okay, the chemistry surrounding cleaning is not as compelling as poisons. How do soaps and detergents remove grime? Start with this article, Dirty Business, which explains the role of surfactants in cleaning clothes. Younger kiddos should start with Chemistry Keeps Us Clean from NCW. This is packed with related activities, too. ACS has these Cleaning Hacks based on chemistry. Use supervision and try this lab, The Chemistry of Stain Removal. The basic idea is ‘like dissolves like’. Polar molecules dissolves in polar solutions; non polar substances dissolve in non polar solutions. Here is another lab. (You probably won’t have naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene; however, the lab also uses NaCl, rubbing alcohol, baking soda, sugar, and oil. KCl or potassium chloride is a salt substitute. I would skip the urea, too.) Clean Chemistry is another mini unit your family can try. Collect a few stained t-shirts and runs some tests.
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