Self-cleaning fabric reduces laundry load

With a new fabric coating, a splotch of ketchup on a shirt or a smudge of engine oil on a pair of pants can easily be cleaned with a simple rinse. By eliminating the need for detergent and the standard water-intensive washing process, the innovative spray-on polyelectrolyte multilayer coating could reduce the water, time, and energy used in laundering by over 80%.The new coating consists of five alternating layers of polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC) and polyvinylsulfonic acid that are sprayed onto a fabric. This process creates bilayers with a high surface density of sulfonate groups that prevent stains from adhering to the material’s fibers (Commun. Chem. 2026, DOI: 10.1038/s42004-026-01942-7).“In earlier studies, we found that densely charged surfaces can stabilize a robust hydration layer,” says author Chongling Cheng of Southeast University in Nanjing, China. “That made us rethink a basic assumption in cleaning. Instead of trying to remove contaminants after they attach, could we make them less likely to stick in the first place?”In tests, the coating worked on cotton, silk, and polyester, demonstrating its compatibility with natural and synthetic fibers. The coating also exhibited antimicrobial and antibacterial properties and was found to bind to microplastics, reducing their release into the environment.“While multilayers are already successfully applied in high-fouling applications such as membrane filtration, I had never thought of a role in self-cleaning fabrics,” says Wiebe M. de Vos of the University of Twente, who was not involved with the study. “I am certainly impressed with the performance, and I like how