Tired of Doing Laundry? You May No Longer Have To

The red colour indicates the presence of silver nanoparticles - the total coverage on the image shows the nanostructures grown by the RMIT team are present throughout the textile. Image magnified 200 times. RMIT University

The monotonous and never-ending task of washing our clothes and linens—not to mention the vast amounts of water washing machines use—may soon be regarded as a quaint hardship of the past. Textiles that clean themselves using light may soon adorn our bodies, beds, furniture, and pets.

This advance lays a strong foundation for the future development of fully self-cleaning textiles.

— Dr. Rajesh Ramanathan, RMIT University