The effect of fiber type (cotton, polyester, and rayon), temperature, and use of detergent on the number of microfibers released during laundering of knitted fabrics were studied during accelerated laboratory washing (Launder-Ometer) and home laundering experiments. Polyester and cellulose-based fabrics all shed significant amounts of microfibers and shedding levels were increased with higher water temperature and detergent use. Cellulose-based fabrics released more microfibers (0.2–4 mg/g fabric) during accelerated laundering than polyester (0.1–1 mg/g fabric). Using well-controlled aquatic biodegradation experiments it was shown that cotton and rayon microfibers are expected to degrade in natural aquatic aerobic environments whereas polyester microfibers are expected to persist in the environment for long periods of time.

在加速实验室洗涤（洗衣液-Ometer）和家庭洗衣实验中，研究了纤维类型（棉，涤纶和人造丝），温度以及洗涤剂的使用对针织织物洗涤过程中释放的微纤维数量的影响。聚酯和纤维素基织物都掉落了大量的超细纤维，并且随着水温的升高和洗涤剂的使用，脱落量增加。纤维素基织物在加速洗涤过程中释放出的微纤维（0.2–4 mg / g织物）比聚酯（0.1–1 mg / g织物）释放的微纤维更多。使用控制良好的水生生物降解实验表明，棉花和人造丝超细纤维有望在自然的水生需氧环境中降解，而聚酯超细纤维有望在环境中长期存在。