Yes, Handwashing Clothes Reduces Microplastic Release Compared to Machine Washing

Back to basics it is. Now hand wash your clothes to save the environment. A research has found that manual methods release far fewer fibres than machine laundering that releases over five times more microplastics.

Long Story, Cut Short
  • Fibres released from handwashing tend to be longer.
  • Adding detergent, pre-soaking fabrics and using a washboard increases the number of released fibres with manual methods, but still not to the same extent as using a machine.
When clothing made from plastic fibres such as polyester and nylon are laundered, the fabric sheds microscopic fibres that eventually end up in wastewater and the environment.
Better Wash When clothing made from plastic fibres such as polyester and nylon are laundered, the fabric sheds microscopic fibres that eventually end up in wastewater and the environment. In many countries, however, it is still common to manually launder clothing.  Sasin Tipchai / Pixabay

Handwashing can drastically cut the amount of fibres shed compared to washing clothes with a machine, new research has found.

  • Although many studies show microfibres are released during machine washing, it's been less clear how hand washing contributes.
  • The researchers wanted to systematically investigate microplastic fibre release from synthetic textiles with different methods of hand washing in contrast to machine washing.

The Study: The findings have been published in the journal ACS Environmental Science & Technology Water, a publication of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

  • The researchers were Chunhui Wang, Weikun Chen, Hongting Zhao, Junhong Tang, Gang Li, Qian Zhou, Jingtao Sun, and Baoshan Xing.

The Backdrop: When clothing made from plastic fibres, such as polyester and nylon, are laundered, the fabric sheds microscopic fibres that eventually end up in wastewater and the environment.

  • Though researchers have investigated the amount and types of microplastic fibres shed while laundering clothing, most studies have focused on washing machines. 
  • In many countries, however, it is still common to manually launder clothing. 
  • A team had previously reported on the effects of washing fabric by hand, but the study was not comprehensive.

What the Researchers Did:  The researchers cleaned two types of fabric swatches made from 100% polyester and a 95% polyester–5% spandex blend with hand washing methods and a washing machine. They found that:

  • Manual methods released far fewer fibres. For example, the 100% polyester fabric shed an average of 1,853 microplastic pieces during hand washing compared with an average of 23,723 pieces from the same fabric that was machine laundered.
  • By weight, machine laundering released over five times more microplastics than the traditional method.
  • The fibres released from handwashing tended to be longer.
  • Adding detergent, pre-soaking the fabrics and using a washboard increased the number of released fibres with manual methods, but still not to the same extent as using a machine.
  • In contrast, they found that temperature, detergent type, wash time and the amount of water used had no meaningful effects on the amount of microplastics shed while hand washing.
 
 
  • Dated posted: 16 January 2023
  • Last modified: 16 January 2023