by ALESSANDRA SUTTI, AMOL PATIL & MARYAM NAEBE
Orbiting 400 kilometers above Earth’s surface, the astronauts on the International Space Station live a pretty normal social life, if not for one thing: they happily wear their unwashed clothes for days and weeks at a time. They can’t do their laundry just yet because water is scarce up there.
But down here on Earth, washing clothes is a large part of our lives. It’s estimated that a volume of water equivalent to 21,000 Olympic swimming pools is used every day for domestic laundry worldwide.
Fibers from our clothes make their way into the environment via the air (during use or in the dryer), water (washing) and soil (lint rubbish in landfill). Most of this fiber loss is invisible—we often only notice our favorite clothing is “disappearing” when it’s too late.
How can you ensure your favorite outfit will outlast your wish to wear it? Simple question, complex answer.
Washing machines are not gentle
When you clean the filters in your washing machine and dryer, how often do you stop to think that the lint you’re holding was, in fact, your clothes?
Laundering is harsh on our clothes, and research confirms this. Several factors play a role: the type of washing machine, the washing cycle, detergents, temperature, time, and the type of fabric and yarn construction.
There are two types of domestic washing machines: top-loader and front-loader. Mechanical agitation (the way the machine moves the clothes around) is one of the things that helps ease dirt off the fabric.
Top-loaders have a vertical, bucket-like basket with a paddle, which sloshes clothes around in a large volume of water. Front-loaders have a horizontal bucket which rotates, exposing the clothes to a smaller volume of water—it takes advantage of gravity, not paddles.
Top-loading machines tend to be more aggressive towards fabrics than front-loaders due to the different mechanical action and larger volumes of water.
Washing machine panels also present many choices. Shorter, low-temperature programs are usually sufficient for everyday stains. Choose longer or high-temperature programs only for clothing you have concerns about (health care uniforms, washable nappies, etc.).
Generally, washing machine programs are carefully selected combinations of water volume, agitation intensity and temperature recommended by the manufacturer. They take into consideration the type of fabric and its level of cleanliness.
Select the wrong program and you can say goodbye to your favorite top. For example, high temperatures or harsh agitation may cause some fibers to weaken and break, causing holes in the garment.
PhysOrg for more