Users have different opinions about things they love

　In the topic of electrical appliances, there is an interesting phenomenon for me. "Reviews between users are easy to argue".

　For home appliances, washing machines and vacuum cleaners. In genres other than consumer electronics, in the past there was a constant debate over whether a personal computer should be Windows or Mac. Recently, it might be "Android or iOS?" or "Is the CPU Intel (i series) or AMD (Ryzen)?"

However, compared to the dawn of the Internet, perhaps because consumers are able to consider a variety of information these days, there are more polite user reviews on shopping sites, and it seems that neutral comments have increased. increase.

　Nevertheless, there are manufacturers and products that everyone is attached to. This is a matter of preference and familiarity, beyond the product specifications, I guess. If it feels like a pet, will manufacturers and users get angry?

Practice magnesium washing with my favorite washing machine

My favorite washing machine is the Toshiba "TW-Z9000R", but it broke down on New Year's Day and the microswitch parts were discontinued. There are circumstances that I could not get it repaired, so I overhauled it myself twice and am using it.

　That's why I'm quite attached to it. It's a type that uses a heat pump to exchange heat, so it saves power.

My favorite washing machine that is indebted to me for my work shirts and martial arts uniforms.

　Although this is not a review of the washing machine, magnesium is the main player as the title suggests. Regarding the mysterious power of magnesium, I would appreciate it if you could read the previous article, "How to create popular content is hidden in magnesium, which is a hot topic on the Internet".

Magnesium granules purchased at a shopping site

This time, let's examine the difference between washing with magnesium soaked water and washing with laundry detergent.

Verify with a blind test

　What is particularly difficult when doing a review is the impact of human sensitivities, such as feelings towards brands and manufacturers, and expectations for new technologies. I'm about to put it away.

　This doesn't mean that the reviewer is lying or over-talking, but that the reviewer naturally has a mental bias that "it must be good", giving them the illusion that they are really good. It is also the fate of sensibility.

　The magic of my work is also thanks to such human sensitivity, but objective verification and specs are important for many products.

There is an inspection called a "blind test". A method of examining results without the observer knowing which experiment it is. It is a test that is easy to judge without bias peculiar to humans.

However, this test is relatively easy for beverages and food, but difficult for electrical appliances. The reason for this is that buying multiple products and hiding the products so that they cannot be seen by the observer is a lot of work and almost impossible for an individual to do, even if it is possible for a manufacturer.

By the way, when washing, I put magnesium grains in a net bag like this.

But this time, instead of comparing washing machines, we are comparing washing methods with the same washing machine. So, I used the stay home as a chance and took some time to experiment.

Start the experiment!

　I prepared three cotton gauze handkerchiefs. Soy sauce, sauce, and lipstick were applied to it (as much as possible in the same amount and range) and left for 24 hours to dry.

From left: soy sauce, sauce, lipstick

　There are three types of water used for washing: "magnesium soaked water in a net bag", "latest laundry detergent (drum type)" and "tap water". In the comparison experiment of magnesium and detergent, adding "tap water" to the sample is supposed to be countered by "wouldn't water alone remove dirt?"

Weakly alkaline water with a pH of 9.7 for normal washing

　The detergent was a detergent solution with the same concentration as the manufacturer's specified "10g per 30 liters" (0.17g in 500ml). Magnesium has a pH of 9.7, which is the same as that used for normal laundry (usually warm water is used, but room temperature for the experiment). Of course tap water is room temperature.

Put the water and the soiled gauze handkerchief into the bottle, shake 10 times every 10 minutes, repeat 3 times, rinse with tap water, dry and finish.

From the left, S (detergent solution), W (tap water), M (magnesium soaked water)

　Even though it was a blind test, it would be a problem if the experiment ended with "Which one is which?", so I marked the bottles properly.

Magnesium has detergency

The results are as follows. Do you know which one is magnesium?

　The result of washing is as above. Can you guess which one is due to the washing of magnesium?

Of course, it's a blind test, so after measuring the results, clarify which handkerchief and which aqueous solution was used.

Here's the answer. All the soy sauce stains on the far left have disappeared. Sauce stains remained light and lipstick stains all remained

　The soy sauce stain disappeared after every wash. Sauce stains are thinner even with tap water, but (although it's a little hard to see in the photo) detergent and magnesium are even thinner, so it can be said that the cleaning power is almost the same. All the lipstick stains remain, and washing with a slight amount of detergent causes a lot of stains, that is, the stains are faintly removed.

When we tested stains from soy sauce, sauce, and lipstick, we found that detergent and magnesium had better detergency than tap water alone, and that detergent was slightly superior for greasy stains. (However, this is for the water quality and pH in the area where the author lives).

For those who want to keep the inside of the washing machine clean and free from odors and mold

　I have always wanted to test a washing method that uses magnesium as a substitute for detergent. What do you think about this experiment that was able to be verified thanks to the stay home?

　There is also trouble such as obtaining magnesium and taking out magnesium before using the drying function of the washing machine. Also, there are many different types of stains, so using detergent may be more effective in removing stains.

However, for me, magnesium laundry is a laundry method that fits my lifestyle. In the future, if high-performance detergents appear or my mood changes, I may switch back to detergents, but for now I enjoy doing laundry.

In the case of the author, regular towels and T-shirts are magnesium and water, and if you want to increase the detergency (bleaching power) occasionally, add about 1 tablespoon of sodium percarbonate to clean the washing tub and it will be pure white. . By the way, I don't use fabric softener because I like the rough finish of towels in foreign hotels.

　When I disassembled the washing machine, the slimy and mold inside was found to be caused by a combination of detergent scum and dirt. By reducing the amount of detergent without sacrificing detergency, such internal dirt should be reduced. If you want to keep the inside of your washing machine clean, are concerned about odors and mold, or are spending more time at home and don't mind a little more time, then it might be a good idea to try washing with magnesium. not.

Tomohiro Maeda

Graduated from Tokyo Denki University. His thesis is artificial intelligence (expert system). One of the "close-up magicians" who perform at close range to a small audience. He has appeared in over 100 TV shows and TV commercials, including primetime specials. In addition to being appointed as a brand ambassador by LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) group companies, he has performed magic to successive prime ministers, ambassadors from various countries, and business people. A gold star member of The Magic Circle London, of which Prince Charles of England is a member, and has made many appearances overseas.

　Authored "Intellectual Distance" (Kanki Publishing), "Secret Words That Motivate People" (Nippon Jitsugyo Publishing), "Brains That Create Art" (co-author, University of Tokyo Press), "New Employees A book to give to you” (co-authored, Nippon Keidanren Publishing) and others.