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How to Prevent & Remove Fabric Pilling?

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Appliance Doctor

Pilling Fabric


✔️ What is Pilling on Fabric?

Those tiny lint balls on your sweaters and bed sheets are actually small knots of broken fibers. These knots, called pills, can form on any fabric, but often appear when the fabric is a blend of different fibers or has a loose weave, like knit fabrics.


✔️ What Causes Pilling on Clothes?

Everyday wear, fabric rubbing against itself and agitation from washing and drying can all cause fabric pilling. You may find more pills in the underarms of shirts, the inseam of pants and the center of bed sheets since these spots see the most wear and tear.


✔️ Washing Machine Detergent Container

Fabric type also plays a role in clothes pilling. Shorter fibers like cotton, wool, fleece, polyester and other synthetics are more prone to breakage, which results in pilling. Longer fibers, such as linen and silk, hold together and break less easily. Loose-knit clothes also tend to pill more than tightly woven fabrics since the fibers aren’t held together as strongly.


✔️ How to Prevent Pilling

So how do you avoid fuzzy clothes and sheets? Here are some laundry tips to help prevent pilling from forming.


1. Check the Care Label

Always check the fabric care label for washing and drying tips. Following the manufacturer’s instructions for a specific fabric type is a good first step at keeping items in good shape and preventing pilling.


2. Sort Clothes by Type and Turn Items Inside Out

To cut down on abrasion, separate and wash clothes with similar fabric types together. Washing heavy items like jeans with a light sweater, for instance, can result in increased pilling.


It’s also a good idea to turn clothes inside out, which can help prevent excess rubbing from other items on the fabric surface.


3. Use a Detergent With Enzymes and a Gentle Wash Cycle

Enzyme-based detergents can help prevent pilling by smoothing out fabric fibers, which reduces the tendency for the fibers to form knots. You may want to add fabric softener to help keep fibers from getting rough and breaking.


Choose a gentle or delicate cycle with slower spin speeds to reduce agitation. Hand washing is also a good option for items that are especially prone to pilling.


4. Air Dry if Possible

Line dry items or lay them on a flat surface to dry instead of tossing them in the dryer. Pilling can form from the friction of items tumbling against each other in the dryer.


✔️ How to Get Rid of Pilling on Clothes and Sheets

Even if you’ve taken every precaution, fabric pilling is often inevitable, especially on certain fabrics and items. Fitted bed sheets, for example, can easily develop pills in the center or the foot of the bed due to body movement. Wool, fleece, flannel and other fabrics that are loosely woven are also prone to pilling. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to remove pilling from clothes.


1. Remove Fuzz With a Lint Roller or Tape

Lint rollers or standard sticky tape are quick options to pull looser pills off of fabric. Press the tape sticky side down on the item and pull off to remove fuzz balls.


2. Get Rid of Pills With a Sweater Stone

Generally made of pumice, a sweater stone picks up pills from fabric as you gently rub it along the surface of the item.


3. Use a Fabric Shaver to Remove Fabric Pilling

Fabric shavers or sweater shavers can also help remove fuzz from clothes. Use caution with fabric shavers—applying too much pressure can shave away more of the fabric than you want.


TIP: COMPLETE THE DRYING PROCESS BY AIR DRYING

If you’re willing to run the risk of cutting the fabric, it’s possible to shave away pills with a safety razor. Using a plain safety razor without moisture strips, pull the item tight over a flat surface and gently shave the fabric to remove pilling.


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No need to worry! Our Appliance Repair team provides top-of-the-line service and prompt same-day repair work.


Call Appliance Doctor at 239-434-7546 for washer and dryer repair in Naples, FL. You can also check our other locations: 239-992-0505 (Estero/Bonita Springs), 239-936-0111 (Fort Myers), 239-540-9500 (Cape Coral), 239-642-0505 (Marco Island), and 239-732-0111 (East Naples) or you can message us online.

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