Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Avoid fluff from wearing
• Method 2 of 3: Wash your clothes without pilling
• Method 3 of 3: Buy fabrics that do not fluff =
• Tips
• Warnings

Fluff, from those little balls of tissue on your sweater or other garment, can occur with almost any type of fabric. Fluff occurs when small pieces of fiber come off the fabric and form small balls of thread that stick to the fabric. The main cause of pilling is friction, which most often occurs when you are wearing and when you wash your clothes. There are things you can do to prevent a fabric from pilling, but if you find that many of your garments have lint, it might be an idea to choose fabrics that are less likely to cause this problem from now on.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Avoid fluff from wearing

1. Rest clothes after wearing. Excessive wear can cause lint, especially if the garment does not have time to rest in between. To avoid this, let the garment rest for at least 24 hours to let it return to its original shape before putting it back on. This applies to sweaters, shirts, pajamas and other items of clothing.
   • Wearing a garment too often can cause pilling, because when you wear a garment, the fibers tend to stretch. This can cause the shorter threads in the yarns to become loose and tangles and fluff.
2. Do not carry a backpack. Backpacks cause fluff because it creates friction when you move. Lint is likely to form wherever the backpack contacts your clothing, especially on the back, shoulders and under the arms.
   • Instead of a backpack, use a bag you can hold, a briefcase or a wheeled tote bag.
3. Don't carry a handbag on your shoulder. Handbags can also cause friction and lint, especially on the shoulder area. If you're carrying a handbag and you're concerned that your clothes will shed, carry it in your hand instead of on your shoulder.
   • Shoulder bags, grocery bags, and other things you carry against your body can all cause lint as well.
4. Avoid friction. Fabrics that fluff easily should never rub against each other or against other fabrics or materials. There are a number of actions that can cause friction and all should be avoided, such as:
   • Put your elbows on the table when you work or eat
   • Sliding on the floor (can cause lint on your socks or the back of your pants)
   • Crawl around on your knees when wearing pants
   • Sit on rough surfaces
5. Do not rub stains. When you see a stain, your first reaction is often to spray it with a stain remover, then rub the fabric together until the stain is gone. However, this is another type of friction that can cause lint and should be avoided.
   • To treat stains on fabrics that are prone to pilling, place the stained fabric on an old towel or clean cloth. Apply any stain remover of your choice, then blot the area with a clean towel. The stain will transfer to the underlying towel without rubbing.
6. Keep fabrics away from Velcro. Velcro is very sticky and can cling to the yarn or wool in clothes and other fabrics. When this happens, the Velcro can loosen short threads and cause the fabric to fluff.
   • If you have clothes with Velcro, always keep the Velcro loops closed, especially when washing the garment.

Method 2 of 3: Wash your clothes without pilling

1. Turn clothes inside out before washing. Rolling back and forth in a washing machine causes garments and fabrics to rub together and this leads to lint.To avoid unsightly fluff on the outside of your clothes, turn everything inside out before tossing it in the washing machine or before washing it by hand.
   • If your clothes are turned inside out, pluses can still form, but they will be on the inside of the fabric, so they won't show up later.
   • To prevent the inside and outside of a garment or fabric from pilling, place it in a garment bag before washing.
2. Wash lint-sensitive fabrics by hand. The best alternative for very lint-sensitive fabrics is to wash them by hand. Wash one item at a time. To wash clothes and other fabrics by hand, do the following:
   • Fill the sink or a bucket with water that is the right temperature for the fabric.
   • Add detergent and mix it with the water until you get soapy water.
   • Let the garment soak for at least five minutes.
   • Swirl the garment in the water, but don't rub the fabric together.
   • Remove the garment from the sink / bucket and squeeze out the excess water.
3. Use a liquid detergent with enzymes. Detergents and cleaning products based on enzymes break down organic substances such as grass and blood stains better. They also break down the proteins and sugars that can be found in natural fibers. When you wash your clothes with this type of detergent, the enzymes dissolve the tiny, weak fibers that can form fluff.
   • If you're looking for an enzyme detergent, look for ingredients like cellulase, amylase, pectinase and protease, substances that break down sugars and carbohydrates, proteins and other molecules.
   • Powder detergents can be abrasive. Liquid detergents cause less friction and reduce the risk of fluff when washing.
4. Set the washing machine to "delicate". The delicate wash or hand wash program on a washing machine ensures less friction and this helps to prevent fluffing. With a delicate wash program, the laundry moves less around and it also has a slower spin program, which also ensures less friction.
5. Hang the laundry to dry. Clothes and fabrics also rub together in a tumble dryer, so drying clothes in the tumble dryer can also cause fluff. Instead, hang up clothes, sheets, and other laundry to air dry.
   • For the fastest drying time, hang your clothes outside on a washing line anyway during the warmer months.
   • In winter you can hang your clothes indoors to dry, but leave a window slightly open and the room well ventilated to avoid moisture build-up in the air.
6. If you do need to use the dryer, use a low heat setting. Sometimes you can't ignore it and you have to tumble dry lint-sensitive items. When you find yourself in that situation, turn the dryer to a lower heat setting. This prevents shrinkage and minimizes stress on the fibers.
   • Remove the garments from the dryer as soon as they are dry to minimize the amount of friction to which they are subjected.

Method 3 of 3: Buy fabrics that do not fluff =

1. Leave out the most dangerous substances. Any fabric can get fluff, but some fabrics are more prone to fluff than others. If you find that you often have problems with frizzy garments, avoid the fabrics that frizz the most:
   • Synthetic fabrics tend to fluff more often than fabrics made of natural fibers. Synthetic fabrics known for pilling include polyester, acrylic and nylon.
   • Blended fabrics consisting of both synthetic and natural fibers are also sensitive to pilling.
   • Wool is a natural fiber known for shedding.
2. Choose tightly woven fabrics. The looser a fabric is woven or knitted, the more likely you are to get fluff. This is because loose fibers move more and slide against each other, which leads to fluff. Loosely woven fabrics tend to fluff more often, while tightly woven fabrics do not do so quickly.
   • The more difficult it is to see through the fabric, the tighter the weave.
   • Denim, for example, is very tightly woven and will hardly ever puff.
3. Choose finely woven fabrics. The quality of some fabrics, such as bed sheets, is measured by the number of threads per square centimeter. Usually, the higher the number of threads, the better the quality and also the longer the threads. Longer threads means less fluff, as there are no short threads that come off and become tangled and create fluff.
   • Although the quality of clothing is normally not determined by the number of threads, this rule also applies to clothing: higher quality with more and longer threads.

Tips

• To remove fluff that has already formed, try a wool comb or a pumice stone.

Warnings

• Do not use razors, razors, or lint removers as they can be too aggressive and poke holes in the fabric.