10 tips for eco-friendly washing

Washing the laundry is one of the greatest sources of plastic pollution in households. Microfibers of plastic are woven into almost all modern articles of clothing, and thousands of these are washed out in every washing cycle. Small in size, they can barely be filtered out of the waste water in purification plants and thus they end up in our rivers and oceans where they can survive for hundreds of years as microplastic and harming the environment.

And yet each of us has the power to limit the amount of microplastic released when washing. You only have to put an end to old habits such as washing colored fabrics at 40 °C, 60°C for everything else and 90 °C for bed linen. Thanks to modern detergents, most articles of clothing and home textiles can be cleaned without any difficulty at 30°C. Another possibility is to purchase clothing which does not contain any fibers with plastic, such as the TENCEL™ fiber for example.

You will find ten points here for the more eco-friendly washing of laundry. These can be implemented with ease and without having to wave goodbye to cleanliness and comfort:

1. Buy fewer but better quality textiles

Fast Fashion is one of the main causes of plastic pollution in our oceans since cheap throwaway fashion is full of favorably priced plastic fibers. Anyone who really wants to do something for the environment should look closely at the labels when purchasing fashion and above all renounce everyday wear made of synthetic fibers like polyester, acryl or nylon. There are alternatives free of oil and plastic as well as alternatives of indigenous natural fibers, such as linen or hemp. Likewise Viscose and Lyocell fibers, which are made of wood and bio-degradable, offer a sustainable alternative. The textiles made with these generally retain their shape longer than the „plastic fashion“ which tends to sag rapidly and so do their bit for a cleaner environment.

2. 30°C temperature when washing suffices

We have had it drummed in to us for decades that colored fabrics only get clean if washed at 40°C and bed linen at 60°C. When combined with heat, water impairs the quality of the yarn with which the textiles are woven. In particular, plastic fibers suffer from the heat and are washed out if the water is hot. Thus washing temperatures of 30°C suffice for most washing applications at home since modern detergents ensure a good washing performance in this energy-saving washing alternative.

3. Wash less

We tend to wash too often. One reason for this is most certainly the simplicity offered to us by our electrical appliances, like the washing machine and drier. This does not mean that we will have to live with dirty clothing in the future – but pullovers or jeans certainly do not have to be washed right away if they have only been worn once. A little bit of dirt can be removed by washing by hand in a basin using lukewarm water. With this method clothing retains the attractive appearance it had directly after it was purchased for longer!

4. Gentle spin-dries

Modern washing machines spin the laundry at up to 1,400 rpm. The plastic fibers are literally „spun“ out of the fabric. Reducing the revolutions when spinning or nipping spinning in the bud, particularly with synthetic fabrics which dry quickly anyway, is gentle on the environment and saves energy.

5. Keep shoes out of the washing machine

Hard-wearing sneakers and sports shoes cry out to be washed in the washing machine, often together with jeans or sports clothing in one washing cycle. But the friction causes the microfibers to break. So hard objects like sports shoes, shin protectors or protectors should never be washed along with the normal laundry. The same applies to wash balls. They also cause fiber breaks in the fabric.

6. Separate clothing

Jeans should never be washed with fine lingerie. Textiles with a hard surface, like jeans, led to fabric breakage in clothing with a soft surface, such as fleece jackets, and the destroyed fibers are washed out. For this reason, laundry should always be separated into makes/clothing types.

7. Washing line instead of the drier

We can no longer imagine modern households without driers. When used, however, driers mean even more microfiber breaks in the clothing. Operating the drier requires a lot of energy. As such, laundry dries really well on a clothesline or on a clotheshorse. The latter is not really in the way in the bathroom or in the utility room and spares the environment.

8. Use short wash programs

We often wash our laundry for too long. Every washing machine has short-wash programs which also clean our laundry and go gentle on the environment. The longer the washing cycle, the higher the amount of fiber breakages in the fabric.

9. Use eco-friendly detergents

We tend to overdose when it comes to detergents. This does not make our laundry cleaner. On the contrary, the abrasive agents often contained in the detergent, known as abrasives, create friction during washing, which leads to more fiber breakages. Bleach and a too high pH-value also ensure a higher microfiber discharge. PH-neutral detergents without bleach are therefore the gentle variant for textiles and the environment.

10. Use washbags

Anyone who really to wants to reduce the amount of plastic fiber in wastewater, should use a fine-meshed washbag for synthetic textiles and textiles with a higher share of plastic fibers. The washed out microfibers get caught up in these and can then be disposed of in a normal way. One tip: The guppy friend washbag (https://guppyfriend.com/)