Welcome To The Future…of No Laundry!
We have all been there before. Enjoying a burger or French fries…and plop. A big blob of ketchup drips on your clothes. But thanks to Army physical scientist, Quoc Truong, you may not have to worry about your dry cleaning bill ever again!
Truong and his team have been working on “self-cleaning clothing” for the past five years at the U.S. Army Soldier Research, Development, & Engineering Center in Natick, Massachusetts. Truong’s dream: clothing that won’t get dirty in the first place!
The U.S. Army has about a million soldiers including active duty, reservists and National Guard. Each soldier is issued five uniforms. With the constant wear and tear that uniforms undergo in the field – that’s a lot of laundry!
Challenged by a general to invent a uniform that didn’t need cleaning, Truong examined the molecular level of the fabric and the substances that make it dirty. To make uniforms that actually resist a wide array of water- or oil-based substances, Truong and his team have been working on what he calls an “omniphobic coating.”
“We really wanted to make a coating that once you apply [it] onto fabric, will repel anything.”
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