How to remove pilling from a sweater at home

Pellets appear from friction — for example, when wearing clothes, washing them, throwing the straps of a bag or backpack. Loose, long pile fabrics are especially prone to pilling. Most often, unattractive hairballs occur in low-quality fabrics, as well as in flannel and coarse knit wool. In addition, fabrics with manufacturing defects are susceptible to pilling. Also, hairballs often occur due to factory defects.

Whatever the cause of sweater pilling, regularly remove them from your clothes and then it will look neat and tidy.

Ways to quickly remove pilling from a sweater

We offer several effective ways to quickly remove the pellets from the sweater, returning it to its original appearance.

The pellet machine

Today you can buy an inexpensive machine for removing pellets. The trimmer quickly and easily removes hairballs, regardless of the fabric. The removal is uniform, the procedure does not damage the tissue. It is enough to place the thing on a flat surface and walk on it with a typewriter.

To prevent stretching of the fabric, it is recommended to move in the same direction.

Pumice from pellets

Manufacturers offer special pumice stones to remove pilling from clothes. It is not recommended to use an ordinary stone, as there is a risk of damaging the thing. It is necessary to lay out the sweater on a flat horizontal surface and carefully walk the pumice stone along the fibers without pressing. The movement must be in one direction.

Fine sandpaper

Walk carefully over the surface of the sweater so as not to ruin the fabric. In no case do not apply force when pressing the product.

Initially, it may seem that using sandpaper is guaranteed to ruin the fabric. However, the structure of the sandpaper consists of many small grains of baked powder. It penetrates everything that is located above the main plane. The minimum grit size of the sandpaper should be 120.

By the way, breadcrumbs can also be used according to the same principle, if nothing else was at hand. There are many pores in the dried crust of bread, catching the pellets and pulling them out. It is necessary to gently draw a cracker in a circular motion over the place where the pellets accumulate.

Razor

A regular razor also does a good job with spools. It is advisable to take an already used razor, and not a new one, since with one careless movement the fabric will be cut. It is necessary to lay out the sweater on a flat surface above the light source. The blade should be passed close to the fabric, but without touching it. As a result, you will cut off the protruding woolen lumps, but the sweater itself will be safe and sound.

You cannot use a razor if the sweater is made of long-haired fabric.

Stationery knife

The procedure is the same as when using a razor. It is necessary to move carefully, close to the surface, along the fibers of the sweater. Cut pellets along the direction must be collected by hand and discarded.

Comb

To remove pilling from a sweater with a comb, you need to take a plastic comb with not sharp, frequent teeth. Lay the sweater on a flat surface and lightly move the comb over it, grabbing the hairballs.

Scotch

The method is suitable for a smooth sweater, where the pellets do not hold tightly. If the product is made of long-haired wool, then you will need to use a different method. So, you can not use adhesive tape on the surface of a mohair sweater: otherwise, there is a risk of pulling out the pile, which will lead to unpleasant bald spots.

Procedure:

1. unwind 10 cm of tape;

2. cut off the tape and stick it on the sweater;

3. smooth the adhesive tape well;

4. pull the tape sharply and tear it off.

As a result, you will quickly eliminate the pellets from the surface of the sweater.

Roller with sticky tape

The principle of operation resembles the use of ordinary adhesive tape, but the roller is much more convenient. It is enough for him to walk on the surface of the sweater, as he will immediately collect all the spools, additionally “taking” dust, pet hair, stuck hair, etc. with him.

Nail scissors

This method is suitable for expensive items, as it provides accurate removal of pellets, but at the same time it is time consuming. Dumped lumps are eliminated one by one.

Attention! It is impossible to cut off the pellets with scissors if the sweater is made of natural silk or other delicate fabrics.

Unnecessary toothbrush

If the sweater is made of material with a long nap, then a toothbrush will help get rid of the spools. It is enough to carefully hold it along the pile.

Hard washcloth

It is necessary to take a new hard washcloth, passing it along the fibers of the sweater. You don’t need to wet it.

Sponge for washing dishes

If a lot of small pellets have formed on the sweater, it is necessary to manually stretch the problem areas of the product and walk over them with the hard side of the dishwashing sponge.

Liquid products

There are special liquid products designed to eliminate spools. On the label of such products it is indicated that they soften the fibers of fabrics. It is enough to wash a sweater with spools several times with the addition of this product, and the spools will be completely eliminated.

Dry cleaning

You can clean an expensive sweater from pellets in a professional dry cleaner. Specialists will not only remove the pellets from the surface of the product, but will also process it to prevent similar problems in the future.

How to prevent pimples

There are several life hacks that will help prevent the occurrence of pellets in the future:

1. Wash the sweater according to the cycle indicated by the manufacturer on the product label. Turn it inside out before placing it in the drum to prevent friction between the sweater and the drum. It is also advisable to place the product in a special mesh for washing.
2. If the fabric allows, use conditioner. Thanks to this tool, the fibers soften and straighten.
3. You should not dry the sweater in the machine — due to automatic drying, the product rubs against the drum.
4. If you carry bags, then buy products with a wide, padded shoulder strap. Another option is to carry the bag in your hand. Backpacks and tight straps quickly damage the sweater in the shoulder area.
5. If the sweater has pockets, do not keep your hands in them, otherwise the material around will fall off.
6. If stains appear on the surface of the sweater, use a stain remover. It is impossible to wash the dirt manually.
7. If pellets began to appear on the sweater, then it is impossible to soak it in hot water — such temperatures lead to deformation of the fabrics.
8. Buy only high-quality sweaters, on the surface of which spools rarely appear. When buying a product, carefully inspect it: if it has long puffs of thread, then this thing is prone to spooling.

After you have taken the sweater out of the machine, you can not twist it, as this degrades the quality of the fabric. Gently wring out the water, then lay the sweater on a flat surface. Hanging it is not recommended, otherwise it will stretch.