Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Science

Self-cleaning fabric could eliminate the need for detergent

Detergents may begin their journey by cleaning our clothes, but they end up contaminating the environment, flowing into rivers, ponds, and oceans, where they severely disrupt aquatic animal life. Even after wastewater treatment, some chemicals remain and pass through filtration systems, continuing t...

Self-cleaning fabric could eliminate the need for detergent
Image: Phys.org
Detergents may begin their journey by cleaning our clothes, but they end up contaminating the environment, flowing into rivers, ponds, and oceans, where they severely disrupt aquatic animal life. Even after wastewater treatment, some chemicals remain and pass through filtration systems, continuing to pollute natural water bodies. A team of researchers from China explored the question: What if our clothes could be washed without detergent?

Originally published at Phys.org

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