How to Have Lint Free Sweats After Washing

Sweat suits can get pills in the laundry.

When you wash clothing, lint from the garments being washed can come loose and reattach to them. This is called pilling. Certain things pill more than others when they are washed. This would include things such as towels and sweat suits. Pilling not only makes garments look worn and unattractive, but it can also make them less comfortable. Pilling can be removed with a sweater shaver, a lint brush or a lint roller. However, you can reduce or prevent lint from forming at all if you know a few laundry tips and tricks.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towel
• 1 cup bleach
• Fabric softener or vinegar
• Pantyhose

Instructions

1. Clean your washer. Use a wet paper towel to wipe hair, lint and other debris from inside the basin, around the rim and door. Run your washer with no clothing in it. Use a regular wash cycle with hot water and 1/2 to 1 cup of bleach. This should be done 3 to 4 times each year.

2. Separate your wash. Certain items shed more lint than others. These items should be washed separately. Towels, bathrobes, sweaters, sweat suits and other lint-heavy items should be washed separately from other garments. You should also wash items with like colors, so if lint does deposit it is not contrasting to the color of the items being washed.

3. Check and empty the pockets of the items you are washing. Before starting your laundry clean the lint trap for your dryer and do the same for your washer if it has one.

4. Load the washing machine. The washer should not be stuffed with items. Pack the washer loosely so your clothing has room to be agitated. The water should have adequate room to drain loose fibers away from the clothing with the wash water.

5. Add a fabric softener to your washer. Fabric softener adds a coating to clothing and that coating makes it more difficult for lint to stick to your clothing. Vinegar acts as a natural fabric softener, add 1 cup to your rinse cycle or fabric softener dispenser.

6. Toss an old pair of nylon pantyhose in the dryer with your laundry. The lint will stick to the nylon rather than sticking to your sweats. Remove your laundry from the dryer before it is entirely dry. Lint sticks to dry clothing easier than it does damp, so if you allow your laundry to hang dry the rest of the way it will have less lint.

References

• Family Corner: Toward Lint-Free Laundry
• Home Ec-101: How to Reduce Lint in Laundry
• "Talking Dirty Laundry with the Queen of Clean"; Linda Cobb; 2001
• "Laundry: The Home Comforts Book of Caring for Clothes and Linens"; Cheryl Mendelson; 2005