Hypothesis: Penny & Lee (P&L) silk+viscose copper pillowcases will have little to no microbial growth after 1 week of daily usage.
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Each pillowcase was swabbed and Samples were collected by thoroughly swabbing each pillowcase with its own sterile cotton swab. The sterile cotton swab was first moistened with a freshly opened bottled water then each part of the cotton swab was rubbed against each pillowcase ensuring well collected samples. A sample taken of the driveway was the positive control. (Prior to sampling all the pillowcases were laundered before use.)
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Experiment
Each of the samples collected were smeared onto their own Petri dishes, then covered with a plastic lid, and put into a controlled environment. The environment was a plastic container with a lid and a lamp over it to keep the optimum temperature for microbial growth between 70-85 degrees fahrenheit.
Observation was done each day for the next 3 days.
Results
Day 0 was the day for sample collection. Day 1 had noticeable growth on samples of the driveway and microfiber pillowcase. Minor growth on the silk pillowcase, and no obvious growth on the silk copper pillowcase. Day 2 more growth on driveway, microfiber, and silk, there was still no obvious growth on P&L silk copper pillowcase. By day 3 there was a significant amount of growth for the driveway. The silk and microfiber pillowcases had moderate amounts of growth. The P&L silk copper had a very little amount of microbial growth.
Conclusion
P&L silk + viscose copper pillowcases have antimicrobial effects. This can help reduce the spread of bacteria and other microbes on the pillowcases.