Your Washing Machine is Polluting the Ocean with Microplastics. This Modular Filter hopes to stop that.

Posted on 02/10/2023 by Sarang Sheth

I was today years old when I learned that 35% of the ocean’s microplastic problem comes from washing machines. Most of the clothes we wear today have some blend of synthetic fibers that degrade ever so slightly when washed. These microscopic fibers mix in the water and get dumped down the drain, making their way into our oceans, and then into our body through seafood and even salt. Microplastics have reached parts of the body we never thought possible before, like our brain, our reproductive organs, and even fetuses through the placenta. It sounds scary (and it somewhat is), but the folks behind PLANETCARE 2.0 have a simple solution – a microfiber filter attachment for your washing machine.

Designers: Miha Vrhovec and Lenche Gjorjioski

Click Here to Buy Now: $62 ~~$95~~ (35% off). Hurry, only 122/199 left!

Simply put, PLANETCARE 2.0 is a nifty filter that snaps to the side of your washing machine, filtering all the water the machine drains out after a cycle. Think of the PLANETCARE 2.0 as the water equivalent of you sorting your trash. You wouldn’t throw recyclables along with food waste, would you? So why would you dump microplastics out with your water?

Scientifically Proven – The only microfiber filter that truly stops 98% of fibers.

Tested by 7000+ Users – Their first-generation filter is used by more than 7000 users providing valuable feedback.

Easy to Install – Takes only 10 minutes to install the filter and a minute to change the filter cartridge.

Designed to easily attach to your washing machine in a matter of 10 minutes (you can assemble it yourself without calling a plumber), PLANETCARE 2.0 catches all the microplastics from your washing machine’s drain water, ensuring they never make it to the ocean. An estimated 700,000 tiny fibers shred from your clothes with each wash cycle. Depending on the fabrics you wear, these fibers will include natural materials like cotton, denim, wool, and silk, but also synthetic materials like nylon, polyester, and other fabric blends found in most clothes. PLANETCARE 2.0 catches up to 98% of these microfibers (both natural and synthetic), preventing them from getting carried into our waterways. The result indirectly benefits you, but directly benefits our planet, nature, and the delicate ecosystem of life on Earth. While we can’t easily remove existing microplastics in the world around us, we can easily prevent more microplastics from being added to it.

The PLANETCARE 2.0 is a rather cleverly designed product that tackles the microplastic problem on a whole systemic level. Plug the device into your washing machine and its microfiber filter traps up to 98% of all microscopic fibers in the drain water, without using any electricity. Once the filter reaches its maximum capacity, it pops up to reveal a red-colored ring, letting you know that it’s time to swap out the old filter for a new one. Just take the old filter cartridge out and add a new one in like you would replace batteries on your TV remote. The old filter cartridge can be sent back to the folks at PLANETCARE, who reuse 95% of the cartridge and recycle the remaining 5%, ensuring absolutely zero wastage. The entire circular economy around the filter tackles the microplastic problem on a systemic level, so that you’re not just passing the buck onto the next guy. You’re part of an honest movement to ensure plastics never enter our environment and our bodies again.

First-timers can grab their PLANETCARE 2.0 starter kit for just $62, which includes the device itself along with 3 filter cartridges and a spare drain hose. If you’re a part of the 7000+ users currently using the 1st gen Planetcare filter, you can upgrade to the v2.0 device for $31, with global shipping in December 2023 so you can begin the new year on an eco-friendly note!

Click Here to Buy Now: $62 ~~$95~~ (35% off). Hurry, only 122/199 left!

The post Your Washing Machine is Polluting the Ocean with Microplastics. This Modular Filter hopes to stop that. first appeared on Yanko Design.

Samsung Less Microfiber Filters stop our laundry from destroying our oceans

Posted on 08/06/2023 by JC Torres

Sometimes it’s the small things that can have the biggest impacts because they’re taken for granted until they snowball into a catastrophe. Small pieces of trash thrown haphazardly gather to become mounds of garbage that block drains and cause floods. Even the way we clean our clothes, unbeknownst to us, can actually kill our seas and oceans in the long run. That’s the unfortunate side effect of having microplastics in the textiles we use, too small to distinguish from the wastewater we drain out of our washing machines. Fortunately, we now know better, and companies like Samsung are lending a helping hand to make sure that our personal hygiene won’t be causing harm to the planet for generations to come.

Designer: Samsung

Given how essential they are both to our comfort and our style, we take for granted what mass-produced clothes are made of. Unfortunately, the synthetic textiles used in many of them actually shed small pieces of plastic or microplastics in our wash. Of course, we simply drain the dirty water like any other, and these microplastics find their way into our oceans, along with the other bits of broken-down plastics from the garbage we carelessly throw away.

Now that the microfiber cat is out of the bag, eco-conscious people are moving quickly to clean up the mess, literally and figuratively. Since it will be next to impossible to immediately change the textile that produces these microplastics, the most efficient solution would be to stop laundry machines from spitting out these minute particles in the first place. That’s where Samsung’s new Less Microfiber Filter comes in, promising to capture as much as 98% of these microplastics before they even hit the drain. The company says that this mass is equivalent to eight 500ml plastic bottles per year if the wash is used four times a week.

The filter is designed with a rather minimalist aesthetic and can be mounted on top of any standard washing machine, not just Samsung’s. The box itself is made from recycled plastics and is shipped in sustainable packaging. It’s also engineered to be long-lasting, maintainable, and convenient to use, requiring cleaning about once a month only. The filter works in conjunction with Samsung’s new Less Microfiber Cycle mode launched last year, which attempts to reduce the shedding of microplastics during washing.

Samsung’s filter, which is available only in South Korea and the UK for now, isn’t the only solution available today. What makes this launch important, however, is the acknowledgment of a major appliance maker of a problem that very few people are aware of. As one of the biggest washing machine manufacturers, it also has an equally big responsibility in righting this wrong, and the filter is a nice and admittedly stylish first step in that direction.

The post Samsung Less Microfiber Filters stop our laundry from destroying our oceans first appeared on Yanko Design.

Lylo Portable Washing Machine reuses filtered water from the shower

Posted on 24/03/2022 by Rei Padla

They say that using washing machines is more eco-efficient. Compared to handwashing, using a washing machine can help save you gallons of water each year. We’ll not run out of reasons to tell you why washing machines are beneficial. What we’re after now are ways to make the process more economical and more environment-friendly.

The Lylo is a concept design that helps promote water efficiency. Lylo Products is a startup by designers Paramveer Bhachu and Joanna Power. The company is dedicated to making devices that deliver innovative ways to reuse water.

Designers: Joanna Power and Paramveer Bhachu | Lylo