Why do pellets appear on clothes
When you wear clothes, wash them, or throw a backpack strap over your shoulder, small clumps of tangled fibers appear on things from friction. The longer the pile and the lower the density of the fabric, the more pellets will be. The most problematic in this regard are wool (especially coarse knit), flannel and almost any low-quality fabric. It is impossible to avoid the appearance of pellets, but it is quite possible to remove them. Clothes after such cleaning will look much neater.
We have selected the simplest and most effective home remedies. But if you do not want to take care of clothes yourself, then you can turn to professionals. In a good dry-cleaner, they will not only wash the thing, but also remove the spools.
How to remove pellets from clothes with a special brush
This is one of the tools that dry cleaners use, but a lint brush is easy to get online. She cleans quickly and safely. Just lay the sweater on a flat surface and comb through it with a brush, slightly tilting it. Move all the time in one direction so as not to stretch the fabric.
How to remove pellets from clothes with a special pumice stone
Use only a pumice stone to remove pilling clothes: a regular cosmetic stone can damage the item. Lay the sweater on a flat surface and lightly, without pressure, run the tool along the fibers. Continue to move along the fabric in one direction, periodically cleaning the pumice stone with your fingers from adhering lumps of pile.
How to remove pellets from clothes with a special machine
The pilling machine resembles an electric razor and works in much the same way. Shave the fabric carefully so as not to cut through it. Lightly stretch the area to be cleaned and fix the material. Turn on the machine and slowly move it, gradually removing the pellets. After finishing work, shake the cut fluff out of the container of the device.
How to remove pills from clothes with a razor
This method will require maximum caution, because with any awkward movement, a cut may remain on the clothes. It is best to take not a new, but a used razor so that it is not too sharp. Lightly stretch and fix the material on a flat, well-lit surface. Move the blade very close to the fabric without touching it. Thus, you will cut off the spools sticking out above the surface, but do not damage the thing itself.
How to remove pellets from clothes with a clerical knife
With a sharp stationery blade, you can clean the thing in the same way as with a razor blade. Move along the fibers of the stretched fabric very close to the surface, as if shaving it. As you clean the cut pellets, collect with your hands and discard.
How to remove lint from clothes with a comb
Take a plastic comb with frequent, not very sharp teeth. Move it along the slightly stretched fabric, scraping off the matted fibers.
How to remove pills from clothes with tape
Use this method for relatively smooth fabrics where the pellets do not hold very tightly. For wool with a long pile, such as angora, it will not work. Unwind 10-15 centimeters of tape, cut and stick to the fabric. Carefully smooth, and then, pulling sharply, remove the tape along with the pellets.
How to care for clothes so that the pellets do not appear longer
Since friction is to blame for the formation of pellets, it should be avoided if possible. Here’s what to do.
- Follow the washing cycle indicated on the clothes. Before you put things in the machine, turn them inside out so that they rub less face-to-face against each other and against the drum.
- Wash woolen clothes in a special net.
- Use fabric softener. It softens the fibers, and they straighten out.
- Do not get carried away with drying in a typewriter: excess friction is also created there.
- Be careful with bags. Any straps and backpacks damage clothing in the shoulder area. If you do not like to carry a bag in your hand, choose wide soft straps.
- Keep your hands in the pockets of a woolen coat less often, otherwise the surface will fall off both around the pockets and around the cuffs.
- Do not rub the item unnecessarily. Do not wash stains – use a stain remover instead.
- Pay attention to the choice of clothes. Quality fabrics are less prone to pilling.
- Be careful with Velcro fasteners: they leave hooks on knitted clothes and damage the fibers, which can then fall off.