Slashdot Mirror
Researchers Develop Self-Cleaning Clothes
Ponca City, We Love You writes "Researchers at Monash University, in Australia, have found a process to coat natural fibers such as wool, silk, and hemp that will automatically remove food, grime, and even red-wine stains by coating their fibers with titanium dioxide nanocrystals, which break down food and dirt in sunlight. Titanium dioxide is a strong photocatalyst and in the presence of ultraviolet light and water vapor, it forms hydroxyl radicals, which oxidize, or decompose, organic matter. "These nanocrystals cannot decompose wool and are harmless to skin," says organic chemist and nanomaterials researcher Walid Daoud. Titanium dioxide can also destroy pathogens such as bacteria in the presence of sunlight by breaking down the cell walls of the microorganisms making self-cleaning fabrics especially useful in hospitals and other medical settings."
Sunlight?
This is some new kind of LED, right?
"...natural fibers such as wool, silk, and hemp..." So what if I'm sitting real close to someone who is wearing spandex or nylon or some other artificial fabric? Does it eat through those?
Obviously this would be the perfect clothing for many slashbots. However its requirement of sunlight to activate the self-cleaning enzymes makes it impractical for those basement dwellers among you.
Can they modify the fabric to react to the glow of a CRT?
I guess we'll be seeing many more geeks walking around in their underwear.
What about those of us who sit behind a computer in a basement all day letting our pizza spill on to our shirts?
...man wakes up to find a pile of goo wearing his wife's very clean titanium dioxide pajamas...
I look forward to the development of advanced greenhouse-hospitals with remarkable amounts of sunlight.
Tweet, tweet.
...so long as the 1980's computer voice from "Back to the Future II" alerts the wearer when their jacket is dry.
Titanium dioxide is a strong photocatalyst and in the presence of ultraviolet light and water vapor, it forms hydroxyl radicals, which oxidize, or decompose, organic matter.
If I am made of organic matter should I only wear these treated cloths at night?
Now I'll never need to leave my room
Great. Now we can look forward to "Clothes resistant flesh-eating streptococcus".
It's interesting that a compound normally used in dyes is now being use to prevent stains.
1) Does this process bleach the fabric? (i.e. Does this work for colors other than white?)
2) What does this do to the longevity of the fibers in the fabric? Does constant exposure to hydroxyl ions damage the cellulose in them?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
I guess the old "Spill something on her dress and act concerned by patting her chest with a napkin" plan just flew out the window. Now I gotta use other plans to act innocent while copping a feel.
I guess I could try the "Make a sudden stop at a light right before it turns red and stick my arm out to make sure she doesn't fly forward" plan.
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/19/1246231
Titanium dioxide is a strong photocatalyst and in the presence of ultraviolet light and water vapor, it forms hydroxyl radicals
It sounds like some of the titanium dioxide is used up in the process. How long will the self-cleaning property last?
Clothes are relatively easy to clean... Now, self-cleaning keyboards... that would be an achievement!
Onda Technology Institute
Let us pool in money and buy one for our beloved RMS ! ;)
... Asbestos?
Can these self-cleaning clothes handle the "armpit stank" most of us put out? those living in the basement of their parent's house might not consider this much of an issue, but the rest of us do :-)
OK. So it's safe on the skin, but what's the chance of inhaling or swallowing this stuff? What are the effects if it's taken internally?
-- "At Microsoft, quality is job 1.1" -- PC Magazine, Nov. 1994
What stops the hydroxyl radicals produced by Ti02 from oxidizing the organic material in the cotton, silk, or hemp fibers?
Sounds like a great way to ensure no one wears last year's fashions.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
Does this also remove blood stains?
If so, Dexter would love it...
A Human Right
tagline...."The cyrstals when they eventually wear off become airbourne and the prolonged exposure causes suffocation due to scar tissue in the lungs." (j/k).
Can we say mesothelioma???
so that's how the clothes in that movie stayed so clean despite the surrounding filth...
there's proof positive this will work.
check it out in the time musheen!
"If still these truths be held to be
Self evident."
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Sure, they say that Titanium Dioxide, that uber dangerous chemical also found in white paint, is safe to wear now, but, what about 20 years ago? Back in my day, scientists said that lead was safe for gasoline, and that was wrong. Then they said that the pill was safe, until fish started popping up without sex organs? They used to have this four food groups and said I needed to eat a lot of peanut butter and cheese, and I did, and now I need a new thing to get my cholesterol back down, and I can only eat food that even dogs wouldn't eat. Back in my day, doctors used to dole out speed like it was going out of style and advocate a smoke to calm your nerves. Now they've taken all of that away, all the good stuff, and instead, I've got clothes that I won't have to wash. I know those are going to kill me too.
Nope, I'll just stick to washing clothes with water and a bit of soap!
This is my sig.
Who immediate thought of this when they saw the headline?
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
But, it doesn't seem to make SENSE to me...
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthguidelines/titaniumdioxide/recognition.html
Search down to:
HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION
http://www.theorganicmakeupcompany.com/CA/titaniumdioxide.asp
"Titanium dioxide has a variety of uses, as it is odorless and absorbent. This mineral can be found in many products, ranging from paint to food to cosmetics. In cosmetics, it serves several purposes. It is a white pigment, an opacifier and a sunscreen. Concern has arisen from studies that have pointed to titanium dioxide as a carcinogen and photocatalyst, thus creating fear in consumers."
"The MSDS states that titanium dioxide can cause some lung fibrosis at fifty times the nuisance dust, defined by the US Department of Labor as 15 mg/m cubed (OSHA) or 10 mg/m cubed (ACGIH Threshold Limit Value). The ACGIH states that titanium dioxide is "not classifiable as a human carcinogen". Symptoms of chronic overexposure to titanium dioxide in an industrial setting, according to the MSDS, include a "slight increase in lung tumour incidence in lab rats". It also states "when titanium dioxide was fed to rats/mice in a carcinogen bioassay, it was not carcinogenic". The NIOSH declares that at 5000 mg/m cubed there was slight lung fibrosis, concluding that this substance was carcinogenic in rats."
http://www.ccohs.ca/headlines/text186.html
OK, I know the first slam upon me will be the lack of concentration of the TiO2, the means of entry, and so on, but STILL...
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
I told the boss that if we could activate the cleaning process via moonlight that we could cater to the vampire and hooker crowd...
Researchers ... have found a process to coat natural fibers ... by coating their fibers...
That's some darn good journalism right there. Uh-huh.
Is there something terribly wrong with simply getting up off your ass and cleaning your clothes once in a while?
RS
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
Once you wash these specially treated clothes in a regular washer, you lose the self-cleaning ability? :D
Feb. '08 - Researchers Develop Self-Cleaning Clothes
June '09 - Startup "Washtec" Sells First Self-Cleaning Clothes
Oct. '09 - Old Navy, Nike, UnderArmour License Self-Cleaning Fabric Technology
Nov. '12 - Self-Cleaning Apparel Set to Overtake Ordinary Clothing Sales this Holiday
July '13 - Self-Cleaning Clothes Linked to Cancer, Impotence, Schizophrenia
Aug. '13 - Self-Cleaning Clothes Health Study Flawed
Nov. '13 - Self-Cleaning Clothes: The Killer in your Closet
Nov. '13 - SCCs do Pose Some Risk, Scientists Say
Dec. '13 - SCC Risks Exaggerated, Study Finds
Feb. '14 - Old Navy pulls SCCs from Shelves
June '14 - Newer, Safer, SCC Technology Developed
If the clothing made from this fabric was smart enough, it would eventually figure out that the best way to get rid of the 'dirt' problem is to eliminate the one, who is wearing the clothing in question. While the researchers say that these nanocrystals cannot harm the skin, how long before it gains this ability, by say becoming exposed to some levels of X-Rays higher than normal? It wouldn't make long before a movie about the hungry killer suit is released. Also judging from the kind of garbage that get the Oscar nowadays, this new movie is going to get fasttracked in that department as well.
You can't handle the truth.
Nerds of the world, Rejoice!
Ok, there have been many funny comments, but this could be very useful outside of the realm of those of us who have poor hygiene habits.
My girlfriend is currently in her third year of med school and she has repeatedly talked about the issue of doctor's ties, white coats, and other things in hospitals being harbors for germs.
I'm imagining that 'cleaning stations' could be setup relatively easily around hospitals where all you do is shine some UV light or whatever activates this stuff and you could decrease the spread of germs without huge cost or inconvenience. I mean, doctors wash their hands all the time, but how often can you realistically wash a tie?
I for one would like to see this developed further and find out how low we could get mass production costs.
Are you telling me that normal clothes are not self-cleaning, and you are meant to wash them or something?
</slashdotReaderCliche>
${YEAR+1} is going to be the year of Linux on the desktop!
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Ever brushed your teeth? Maybe with white toothpaste? You worried about that too?
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
I wouldn't have had to hammer my socks until the were bendable again :)
You always see captain Kirk, Spock, the Redshirts, and all the rest of them beam down into dirty, dusty, hostile environments for weeks at a time. Most of the episodes, the planet hadn't even evolved dry cleaners or laundromats, or it had evolved way way past that. Yet their shirts are always spotless. I always wondered how that worked. Now I know: Titanium nano crystals from the future embedded in the very fabric of the star fleet uniform.
That's pretty awesome. Less water usage. Less work for me. It's win/ win. The water savings along could be incredible.
I remember seeing at the Toronto Condo Show a year or two ago a company that had a paint which had similar properties: would kill bacteria and destroy dirt when the dirt/bacteria contacted the painted material that was exposed to sunlight. They claimed it was already quite popular in medical settings and also in residential settings in Asia, and they were trying to break into the local residential markets.
It sounded really cool, but unfortunately, they guy who was at the booth was more sales than tech. Does anyone know what this was, or how it worked? It sounds similar to the clothing described here.
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We regret to inform our customers, that due to manufacturing errors at our plants in China, some batches of our self-cleaning cloth have demonstrated unexpected behavior. In those cases the cleaning process has been extended beyond the material of the clothing. We have reports where the cleaning process removed the skin layer of the person wearing underwear products made from our patented material. We have identified the cause, and put in more stringent manufacturing rules.
In related news: Reinventing the funeral business
An Australian company have applied for patents for their "bodybag coffin", which may revolutionize the way how we take care of those who passed away. The "bodybag coffin" is based on nanotechnology, which allows the breakdown of the dead body within hours, eliminating the need for expensive burial sites. During the fast elimination process the "body beg coffin" offers different options. The simple version collects the remains (which are broken down to less than a handful of ashes-like material) into a small "soul bag" and can be taken by the relatives by the end of the funeral ceremony.
Other version of the "body bag coffin" can produce electricity during the breakdown process and the "soul energy" can be captured and stored in a variety of ways to create a memorabilia of the passed away person.
The "body beg coffin" is very environmental friendly, there is no technical difficulty to re-use it over and over.
The public will have to get used to the idea of the re-usable "body bag coffin", but the company spoke person pointed out, that we already use the same equipments to cremate bodies.
Rich customers would probably have their own "body beg coffin", while the "Dynasty" version will aim to "family body beg coffins", where family members could use the same "body beg coffins" to "bury" their loved ones for generations to come. This version will be equipped with a technology, called "DNA-elIminate", which will make sure, that at the end of the process any remainders of the DNA of the deceased is completely "shredded".
Making something self-cleaning by coating it with titanium dioxide seams to pop up every couple of years. There was an effort to make self cleaning kitchen tiles and self cleaning house siding.
These wonderful technologies run into two problems.
One, they only come in one color-- white.
Two, they only work in UV light. So the shady bits can get very dirty-- dirty enough to block the UV and halt the self cleaning trick.
What's the point of having a self cleaning garmet if you have to tumble it for hours under UV light?
But what is wrong with this picture (from one of the Wikipedia links above)? Is she some sort or slave woman whose chains were photoshopped from her legs but not all of her shadow? WTF?
Method of processing duck feet
It wouldn't work well to go out in the hot sun hoping to get the armpit stick out of your shirt
Pizza goes on shirt. Sunlight activates catalyst. Catalyst causes a chemical reaction that decomposes the pizza into ... what? Organic gases?
What does this smell like while operating?
-Graham
What, this stuff could have an adverse effect on human skin? Impossible. Since when have we ever rushed a poorly understood product to market with no consideration of future consequences?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Titanium dioxide destroys organic matter, like your skin, which is btw immune to this destruction. They sure have to come up with a better advertisement text, because this one sounds just a bit scary.
We can be done with this silly laundry nonsense and get on with the business of civilization!
This sounds like the vacuum cleaner "revolution" - you spend the same amount of time cleaning your house in the year 2000 as you did in 1900.
You simply go over the entire floor with a vacuum cleaner instead of a broom.
And now in 2007 we spend the same time following the Roomba, putting missed pieces of dirt back in its path.
Unless people were watching the washer and dryer as if they were TVs, this may not be any great gain to the average person.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Ealing comedy (think Lavender Hill Mob, Lady Killers, Passport to Pimlico) from 1951. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044876/
development.lombardi.com
Titanium dioxide can produce free radicals when it is decomposed in UV light. They can't penetrate your epidermis, but if there is broken skin you could be in a spot of bother as free radicals have quite an unpleasant effect on DNA.
If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we shoot people for Apollo-related non-sequiturs?
It's not hard to keep the red shirts clean--people don't seem to wear them very long.
If it breaks down organic matter, what does it do to the wearer?
I remember too well buying and attempting to wear a very open weave shirt that readily showed exposed my skin. Nonetheless, instead of being cooled, this shirt magnified the heat. As a result, I tore the shirt off and continued to play tennis exposed to the sun's rays. Despite the exposure and the subsequent burn I was more comfortable without a shirt than with it. Hence, the question arises, how does the even a thin layer of Titanium dioxide alter the pleasing sensation of cotton against human skin? I would guess towards the worse.
Another aspect to consider, is that reactions leading to more stable, simpler end products have a net release of heat [of reaction]. Dirty clothing, combined with direct sunlight could make many people uncomfortable, as they come clean.
Counter to my tastes, I have seen individuals wearing obvious synthetic clothing in hot environments, with no apparent sign of distress. Therefore, the market may be there, however, probably not appropriate to all.
http://www.fresh2.com/ I actually have some of these as they were on sale at one of those sites that sells only CFLs and after rebate, etc, they were down to a price I thought was worth a try. In doing some research on whether to try them or not I did stumble upon one Japaneese study that basically took common smelling gases and stuck them in a contained area with one of these bulbs in them. Supposedly they did break down the gases into non ordorous compounds. The price was close enough that I gave them a shot. I placed two of them in the den which also houses the dog crates. I don't know if they work or not. It seems like they do but this is the sort of thing that is rather hard to say unless in a real test environment. Thinking on it, being winter and the house all closed in, I'd be inclined to purchase them again.
My blog
New innovative method for weightloss... Clothing that eats you alive - while you wear it.
Yeah, actually there's a huge difference in the structures of bacteria and people... Starting with the fact that humans don't have cell walls. Cell membranes, yes, but not cell walls. And the only eukaryotes that I can think of off the top of my head that do have cell walls are the fungi, and even then the structure is quite different (fungi have chitin in their cell walls, while bacteria don't).
It really depends on whether the hydroxides are attacking fatty acids (which make up the overwhelming majority of the cell membrane) or proteins (which make up the bulk of the cell wall). My guess here is on the proteins.
How great! Now if only they could come up with a self-cleaning solution for my ass.
. . . for marinara sauce and egg yolk?
Just wonderin'. . .
What?
Oh ho! What makes you so sure that the fabric hasn't already advanced far enough to eat the entire research team, and is not issuing its own press releases advertising how miraculously wonderful and, of course, completely safe it is?
This has got to be a joke. It exudes free radicals that oxidize organic matter.... but it's safe to wear. Does that not sound right to anyone but me? I can hear it now.
Mike: Have you seen Bill lately?
Mary: Yeah. Poor guy. It's really too bad about the stage IV, ulcerated, cancerous lesions covering 40% of his skin.
Mike: Yeah, but did you see his shirt? It looks great! It's so clean, even with the continuously oozing discharge! He's the best dressed patient in the Hospice ward.
No thanks.
.. it needs, umm, hang on, what was it again, ah, "sunlight". Is that the stuff that drives solar panels? :-)
Insert
I'm organic. You think I am going to trust some crystal to know the difference between Thanksgiving dinner and my family jewels?
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
There was a great movie about this subject made in the 50's called "The Man in the White Suit", with Alec Guinness. In the movie, a scientist invents a fabric that repels dirt and doesn't wear out. After initially being heralded as a hero, all the vested interests (pun unintended) in the world's textile and clothing industries think it will mean the end for them, and they want him dead. The movie might take on renewed relevance...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_White_Suit
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044876/
Do not put your SCC's where the sun never shines.
Her face.
But that's just my opinion.
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
Won't these clothes decompose me given enough sunlight?
...But I digress. TREMBLE PUNY HUMANS!ONE DAY MY SPECIES WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!
Also, they don't show blood!
I wonder how long it will be before these become a staple at gaming conventions?
"d00d, I totally gamed for 36 hours without sleeping... and I didn't smell as bad as normal!"
"Teach a man to build a fire, and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life."
As if my deodorant didn't have enough challenges.
It was done in 1951.
What's that you say, it was only a story? Perhaps it was and perhaps it predicted the outcome (not good for the inventor).
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Protein based fibres (wool, feathers, silk etc) require different treatment than plant based fibres(cotton, hemp etc) because there's a need to "open up" different types of cells.
For protein based dying (in a home/craft situation) it is common to use vinegar. Vinegar is also one of your great grandmother's go-to household cleaners.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
As seen in "The Man in the White Suit" (Alec Guinness, 1951), this invention will never get to market. The clothing industry will kill it because no one will have a need to buy new clothes.
If only Monica Lewinsky had a dress made from this self-cleaning fabric.....
Knowing Google's lust for data collection, the Soviet Union is still alive and well inside the psyche of Sergey Brin....
This sounds like it could be a process that would not smell pleasant, if you are walking around with decaying organic matter on your clothes.
What about power laces and self drying/fitting clothes?
That should be here by 2025, right?
Libertas in infinitum
We don't put bullseyes on the redshirts anymore.
Don't post innacurate information
If you do, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet I will end you.
Pfft! I invented something similar 15 years ago. I call it Chantal. She calls me a lazy bum. I need to find me a girlfriend who shows me more respect (and doesn't mind washing some nasty undies).
...if I pee in these pants, all I have to do with hang them in the sun and then they are clean?
Mmmmm, I have a trust issue with that.
Of course the acid test would be after an bad case of expolsive diarrhea.
See the Alec Guinness film The Man in the White Suit.... the textile industry might not like this.
what about your armpits, this idea seems stupid.
See:
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/441408/index.html
I know! The same thing happened with my Roomba recently. I still shudder every time I hear a vacuum cleaner in the distance.