Don’t throw away your old sweaters just yet! Here’s how to get rid of fabric pilling safely and easily, according to laundry experts.
How to Remove Fabric Pilling—and Prevent Those Annoying Balls from Forming
If you wear clothes, sooner or later you’re going to deal with fabric pilling. That’s the term for the small, round balls of attached lint or fuzz that pop up on certain items. Pilling on clothes doesn’t discriminate: You may have noticed the telltale lint balls on a favorite, well-worn pair of leggings or a relatively new sweater. Either way, it’s very frustrating!
Fabric pilling can be caused by a number of things, from normal wear and tear to not being careful about how you do laundry. While you can’t always prevent fabric pills, there are several ways to remove them … which you most definitely should do, because the one thing we know for sure is that fabric pilling “will increase exponentially if you don’t remove the pills,” according to textile expert Patric Richardson, author of Laundry Love and host of The Laundry Guy on HGTV and Discovery+.
But how do you do it correctly—and without damaging your clothes? To find out, we consulted two top fabric-care and laundry experts, Richardson and Mary Gagliardi, aka “Dr. Laundry,” a scientist for Clorox who has researched and developed laundry products for more than a dozen years. Here’s everything you need to know about fabric pilling, including what really causes it, the best ways to remove it and how to keep it at bay.
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About the experts
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What causes fabric pilling?
There are a number of factors that can contribute to fabric pilling on clothes. These include:
- Regular wear and tear. Friction is a common cause of pilling. “When the fabric is rubbed against another portion of the garment or another surface, fibers are pulled from within the garment and combine to form a ball on the surface,” Gagliardi says. “When arms swing against the body of a shirt, for example, that can result in pills forming on both the body and the sleeves or cuffs.”
- Improper garment care. Even if you vow to only hand-wash clothes (and who has time for that?), you won’t eliminate pilling entirely. But the tendency for fabric to pill increases with repeated cycles in the washer and dryer, so make sure to follow your garment’s specific fabric-care recommendations about preferred washing methods, water temperature, drying and more.
- The type of fabric and manufacturing method. These are probably the biggest factors when it comes to pilling, according to fabric-care expert Mary Marlowe Leverette. Pills appear on fabric when groups of short or broken fibers become tangled together in a tiny knot or ball. Fabrics like silk and linen, which are woven with long threads, are less likely to pill than those woven with shorter fibers, like wool, cotton and polyester. A blended fiber fabric, like a cotton-polyester blend, usually has one fiber that is much stronger than the other. The weaker fiber will break, knot around to the stronger fiber and form a pill. Knitted fabrics tend to pill more than woven fabrics because the threads are looser.
- Low-quality fabric. The rate of pilling is directly related to the quality of the fibers, Leverette says. Low-quality items often use shorter, thinner fibers that pill at a higher rate.
Gagliardi notes that “woven fabrics, as long as the yarns are more tightly twisted, are less likely to pill, especially if loose fibers were removed during fabric production.” Some fabric manufacturers include a singeing step during fabric production, in which any protruding fibers are burned away before the fabric is printed or dyed.
In general, though, “a 100% cotton blouse or jeans that are woven are much less likely to have pilling than a sweater or stretchy cotton tights that are knitted,” Leverette says. “Fibers are looser due to the looping action of knitting machines versus the action of weaving looms.”
How to remove pilling on clothes
The good news? Regardless of where or how fabric pilling occurs, it can be removed relatively quickly and easily. And taking care of it when it first starts is one of the best ways to keep the unsightly fuzz balls from continuing to develop, so it’s worth de-pilling your wardrobe regularly. No matter which of the following methods you use, use a gentle hand, Richardson says. You’re working on the surface of the fabric, so you should never need to press or grind the de-pilling device into it. In fact, doing so can lead to holes and tears.
Method 1: Remove pills with a fabric shaver
Fabric pilling on clothes is such a common and frustrating problem that there is a tool specifically designed to deal with it. Known as a fabric shaver or de-piller, it is usually a battery-powered handheld device with a rotating blade that shaves away fabric pills, leaving the surface smooth once again. They can usually be found for under $20, which is well worth the cost if you have a lot of pilled items.
To use a fabric shaver or de-piller, Richardson suggests the following steps:
- Lay the garment on a flat surface.
- Make sure the de-piller is empty, and remove the cover. Switch it on.
- Lightly move the de-piller in a circular motion over the pilled area only. The pills will be removed with a gentle sweep; do not apply pressure.
- When you are done, switch off the device, and empty the lint-collection container.
Method 2: Remove pills with a razor
If you don’t have a fabric shaver (and don’t want to buy one), you can use a razor to remove fabric pilling. A simple disposable razor will do, but make sure it’s new.
- Place the garment on a flat surface.
- Pull the fabric of the area you’re de-pilling, so that it’s taut.
- Hold the razor against the surface of the fabric, and lightly draw the razor downward in short, smooth strokes, shaving away the fuzz. Do not apply pressure, as this can cause holes.
- Brush away the fuzz with your hand. When the surface is smooth, you’re done.
Warning: Don’t use a scissor to snip pills. According to Richardson, it’s easy to snip too much accidentally and make a hole in the fabric. You’ll have more control with a razor.
Method 3: Remove pills with a pumice stone
Another option for de-pilling clothing is a pumice stone, sometimes called a sweater stone or sweater brick. Whether you use an ordinary pumice stone or buy one specifically designed for de-pilling, the process will be the same.
- Place the fabric on a flat surface.
- Hold the area with the pilling taut. With the stone, gently rub it in one direction across the fabric, using short strokes, until you remove most of the pills.
- Next, gently rub the stone across the fabric at a 90-degree angle to the direction you just used. So if you were rubbing top to bottom, go left to right. This will ensure that you get all the pills, no matter where they originated.
- Brush the loose lint away from the fabric with your hand. You may also want to dust or vacuum any debris left by the pumice stone.
How to prevent pilling on clothes
Pilling is like death and taxes: No one can avoid it forever. But there are steps you can take to reduce the amount of pilling on your clothes. One important way to do this is to care for your clothes properly, which includes laundering them according to the instructions on the labels. The laundry symbols listed there will guide you on how to wash and dry, when to take an item to the dry cleaner and more. Here’s what else you can do to keep your clothes looking brand-new.
1. Buy sturdy fabrics
Opt for fabrics that are tightly woven and made from more durable fibers. Knitted fabrics such as cashmere, wool and angora tend to pill more than woven ones, while cotton, silk, denim, linen and hemp fabrics tend to be more resistant to pilling.
2. Sort laundry carefully
To avoid pilling on clothes, it’s important to separate laundry properly. And no, that doesn’t mean tossing all semi-dark clothes in one pile and whites in another. Sort clothes not only according to color but also by fabric type. For example, wash your jeans, cotton sweaters and silk blouses in different loads. This way, heavier and rougher fabrics will be less likely to damage lighter ones in the wash.
3. Turn garments inside out
Turning garments inside out, as well as fastening zippers, buttons and hooks, will prevent pulling and, ultimately, pilling. It’s also a good idea to put items prone to pilling in a mesh laundry bag for added safety, Richardson says. Remember: Pilling results from abrasion, so the fewer items a garment rubs against while being worn or washed, the better.
4. Don’t overload the machine
Similarly, when clothes rub against one another in the washer or dryer, pills can form. And if an item has already started to pill, it can attract other items in the dryer. Cramming clothes into the washing machine may prevent you from having to do a second load, but it won’t do your clothes (or machine!) any favors.
5. Dry with care
Of course, pills don’t just form in the wash. They can develop in the dryer too, so follow the same rules noted above, taking particular care not to overload your dryer and to air-dry when you can.
FAQs
Can dry cleaners fix pilling?
While dry cleaning alone does not remove pilling, most dry cleaners are able to remove pilling from clothes upon request, although they may charge an additional fee to do so. But even “dry clean only” clothing can develop pills from regular wear.
Does 100% cotton pill?
Unfortunately, yes—just about any fabric can pill. An item’s tendency to pill depends on the length and strength of the fiber, as well as how tightly knit or woven it is. If a 100% cotton item has short weak fibers, it will pill over time.
Does pilling eventually stop?
Whether you’re dealing with sweater pilling or any other kind of pilling, it will get worse if you don’t take care of it—and it will not stop on its own. The more you wear a garment, the more prone it is to pilling, so make sure to protect your favorite items with the tips noted above!
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. For this piece, Leah Groth tapped her experience as a home and cleaning reporter, and then Mary Marlowe Leverette, a fabric-care, stain-removal and laundry expert with more than 40 years of industry experience, gave it a rigorous review to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We also relied on reputable primary sources, including textile expert Patric Richardson, host of The Laundry Guy and author of Laundry Love, and Mary Gagliardi, Clorox’s in-house scientist and laundry expert. We verified all facts and data and backed them with credible sourcing, and we will revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Mary Gagliardi, scientist and cleaning expert with Clorox; email interview, 2021
- Patric Richardson, host of The Laundry Guy and author of Laundry Love; phone interview, Jan. 14, 2024