There are many things people do not know about me…NERD is one of them! Yes, I am a Nerd, a huge one, and I do care about a lot of things! For example, our Dear Mother Earth and everything that comes with it! Did you know that washing clothes (especially workout clothes!) on your washing machine’s delicate cycle is worse for our oceans than using the normal or heavy cycle? 🐳👕

That’s because delicate cycles cause more plastic microfibers from your clothes to be released. Every time we wash clothes that contain materials like nylon, polyester and acrylic (which are in most workout clothes), millions of those microfibers are shed.

The fibers are tiny so they drain out into the water supply, and some ultimately end up in the ocean, where they are ingested by the fish and mammals living there. Researchers have discovered those fibers in the deepest parts of the ocean! 

Delicate cycles use more water volume, which causes more microfibers to be released. For a long time, it was believed that the “agitation” or spinning of the drum released more fibers, but in fact it’s the ratio of water volume to clothes. 🐟🐋

So, what should you do?

Researchers suggest avoiding the delicate cycle and making sure your washing machine has the right clothes-to-water ratio (i.e., running a full load!) can help cut down on the synthetic fibers ending up in the environment.
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REFERENCE: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190928082727.htm