Laundering and textile parameters influence fibers release in household washings

Cesa, Flavia Salvador; Turra, Alexander; Checon, Hélio H.; Leonardi, Barbara; Baruque-Ramos, Júlia

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113553

Cited by 131 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Yang et al [21] found that use of a detergent significantly increased microfiber loss, especially for polyester fibers at lower wash temperatures. Recently, Cesa et al [22] reported that detergent use can reduce microfiber release from synthetic clothing. Kelly et al [23] reported that water to fabric ratio was an important factor in microfiber shedding levels, confirmed in both full-scale and model systems.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Napper and Thompson [19] suggested that use of fabric softeners might exacerbate microfiber release under certain conditions, yet De Falco et al [24] concluded that these products reduce microfiber release by more than 35% whereas Pirc et al [20] concluded that fabric softeners have no impact. Several studies [19,20,22,25,26] found that new fabrics generate most microfibers, although others [18] reported similar release levels over multiple cycles and one [27] concluded that artificially aged garments exhibit higher microfiber release than their new equivalents.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

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Microfiber release from real soiled consumer laundry and the impact of fabric care products and washing conditions

et al. 2020

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Fiber release during domestic textile washing is a cause of marine microplastic pollution, but better understanding of the magnitude of the issue and role of fabric care products, appliances and washing cycles is needed. Soiled consumer wash loads from U.K. households were found to release a mean of 114 ± 66.8 ppm (mg microfiber per kg fabric) (n = 79) fibers during typical washing conditions and these were mainly composed of natural fibers. Microfiber release decreased with increasing wash load size and hence decreasing water to fabric ratio, with mean microfiber release from wash loads in the mass range 1.0-3.5 kg (n = 57) found to be 132.4 ± 68.6 ppm, significantly (p = 3.3 x 10 −8) higher than the 66.3 ± 27.0 ppm of those in the 3.5-6.0 kg range (n = 22). In further tests with similar soiled consumer wash loads, moving to colder and quicker washing cycles (i.e. 15˚C for 30 mins, as opposed to 40˚C for 85 mins) significantly reduced microfiber generation by 30% (p = 0.036) and reduced whiteness loss by 42% (p = 0.000) through reduced dye transfer and soil re-deposition, compared to conventional 40˚C cycles. In multicycle technical testing, detergent pods were selected for investigation and found to have no impact on microfiber release compared to washing in water alone. Fabric softeners were also found to have no direct impact on microfiber release in testing under both European and North American washing conditions. Extended testing of polyester fleece garments up to a 48-wash cycle history under European conditions found that microfiber release significantly reduced to a consistent low level of 28.7 ± 10.9 ppm from eight through 64 washes. Emerging North American High-Efficiency top-loading washing machines generated significantly lower microfiber release than traditional top-loading machines, likely due to their lower water fill volumes and hence lower water to fabric ratio, with a 69.7% reduction observed for polyester fleece (n = 32, p = 7.9 x 10 −6) and 37.4% reduction for polyester T-shirt (n = 32, p = 0.0032). These results conclude that consumers can directly reduce the levels of microfibers generated per wash during domestic textile washing by using colder and quicker wash cycles, washing complete (but not overfilled) loads, and (in North America) converting to High-Efficiency washing machines. Moving to colder and quicker cycles will also indirectly reduce microfiber release by extending the lifetime of clothing, leading to fewer new garments being purchased and

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Microfiber release from real soiled consumer laundry and the impact of fabric care products and washing conditions

et al. 2020

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“…It is known that polyester, polyamide, and acrylic garments release the most microfibers. [10] In a typical washing load, the number of released fibers can vary greatly, depending on the content of the load [8,11]. Fleece fabrics (also polyester) release up to two million fibers [8].…”

Section: Microfibersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although natural materials (such as cotton) and artificial materials from a natural source (e.g., viscose) degrade in natural water and are not as harmful as synthetics, they can contain toxic additives and dyes that may be harmful to the environment [5,14,16]. Since cotton and other non-synthetic fibers often release even more fibers than synthetics during a typical washing cycle [10,16], it is interesting to also consider capturing other types of fibers.…”

Section: Microfibersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumers’ Perceptions and Attitudes toward Products Preventing Microfiber Pollution in Aquatic Environments as a Result of the Domestic Washing of Synthetic Clothes

et al. 2020

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Microfibers released by synthetic clothes have a significant negative effect on the environment. Several solutions have been proposed and evaluated for their effectiveness, but studies have failed to address the human-centered aspects of these products. In this research, the possibilities and needs from a consumer perspective for a new filtering system for domestic washing machines were examined. First, a quantitative (questionnaire) and a qualitative (interviews and observations) exploration were done to understand the desired requirements from a user perspective. Next, the acceptance of various existing solutions for microfiber catching was investigated. To verify these requirements, a new concept was designed and evaluated with a questionnaire. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. It can be concluded that the problem of microfibers is not well known, and the impact of people’s washing behavior is underestimated. Since microfibers are almost invisible, the effectiveness needed to be proven. Effectiveness is seen as the most important characteristic of a product that captures microfibers, followed by durability. Both factors ensure long-term usage. However, changing washing habits is not evident, and usage should be straightforward and user-friendly to save time, especially considering the new cleaning actions, which should be clear and unambiguous.

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“…buying textiles that release less fibres) or changing washing habits (Carney Almroth et al 2018). A decentralised treatment option is a filter in the washing machine (Brodin et al 2019;Cesa et al 2020). A similar strategy, but further upstream, is to have the textile manufacturers pre-wash the fabrics.…”

Section: Suggested Strategies To Abate Microplastic Pollution In Urbamentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards control strategies for microplastics in urban water

Fältström

Anderberg

2020

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Microplastics (plastic particles < 5 mm) is a pollution of growing concern. Microplastic pollution is a complex issue that requires systematic attempts to provide an overview and avoid management solutions that have marginal effects or only move the pollution problem. Substance flow analysis (SFA) has been proposed as a useful tool to receive such an overview and has been put forward as valuable for substance management. However, as the research on microplastics has only emerged recently, detailed and reliable SFAs are difficult to perform. In this study, we use three SFA studies for three pollutants (cadmium, copper and pharmaceuticals) to compare flows and strategies to control the flows. This in order to seek guidance for microplastic management and evaluate potential strategies for controlling microplastics. The analysis shows that there has been rigorous control on different levels to abate pollution from cadmium, copper and pharmaceuticals, but where in the system the major control measures have been carried out differ. For microplastics, there are many potential solutions, both in terms of preventive actions and treatment depending on the type of source. When forming management plans for microplastics, the responsibility for each measure and the impact on the whole urban system should be taken into consideration as well as which receiving compartments are particularly valuable and should be avoided.

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Laundering and textile parameters influence fibers release in household washings

Cited by 131 publications

References 41 publications

Microfiber release from real soiled consumer laundry and the impact of fabric care products and washing conditions

Microfiber release from real soiled consumer laundry and the impact of fabric care products and washing conditions

Consumers’ Perceptions and Attitudes toward Products Preventing Microfiber Pollution in Aquatic Environments as a Result of the Domestic Washing of Synthetic Clothes

Towards control strategies for microplastics in urban water

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