Nov 4, 2026, 10:11 AMshout out to Gökçe Sakmar for doing her master's on filtering out microplastics at washing machine level, you're a real one https://polen.itu.edu.tr/entities/publication/f6234ccb-eb70-4586-bec8-b7ee514b70c0/full
- Nov 4, 2026, 10:11 AM
Replies
- Nov 4, 2026, 10:31 AM
https://sci-hub.st/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.10.057 found less shedding on knit polyester than woven, surprisingly to me. but the difference is small. polypropilene also shed less than polyester, which is weird cos PP yarn has shorter, hairier fibres. the differences are such that I will ascribe this to random variations on yarn quality and whatnot and avoid hard conclusions. other studies usually say that looser fabrics shed more and dense twill the lest, straightforwardly.
also fabric softener reduces microplastics shedding a good bunch, tragically for me who have severe allergies to softener. I wonder if white vinegar (common household softener) has an effect. liquid soap is better than powder. front-loading washing machines in laundromats actually shed more than top-loading, but the determining factor above else seems to be speed; automat front-loads are much faster than domestic ones. straightforwardly, you generally you want to wash clothes in long cycles with low speed and mechanical stress.
Nov 4, 2026, 11:14 AM@spacekatia I use Guppy Friends wash bags. I hope they work as well as advertised to reduce microplastic, but it's getting really hard to figure out what works and what is gimmicks :/ @elilla
- Nov 4, 2026, 11:40 AM
@lettosprey @spacekatia from what I read on those articles the Guppy bag and the Cora balls do work for real, but only for like, 30% of particles or such. I suppose they could be combined, though I saw no data about whether that's effective (presumably the type of fibre that's small enough to escape the one is also likely to escape the other). also they don't seem to sell the latter where I live. I wish someone researched DIY alternatives to these
Alyx Woodward (she/her)alyx_woodward@eldritch.cafeNov 4, 2026, 7:22 PM@elilla the difference between polypropylene shedding and polyester is surely chemical: polyester contains C-O bonds that are far easier to break than the C-C bonds of polypropylene so it's bound to fragment faster.
Nov 4, 2026, 7:27 PM@alyx_woodward @elilla we ought to figure out how to study microplastic pollution. surely this can't be too difficult even with amateur equipment
- Alyx Woodward (she/her)alyx_woodward@eldritch.cafeNov 4, 2026, 7:27 PM