To overcome the cold and freezing wind of the weather, knitwear is such a clever choice in winter. From overcoats to socks, many people prefer knitwear as their clothes not only for keeping warm, but also as fashion items. However, while wearing knitwear, what irritates people the most is fuzz-balls. Why are they formed, and which way would be the most effective way to get rid of them? The UOS Times will provide some information about fuzz-balls.

 
 
The fundamental reason is friction. As knitwear rubs against other materials of other quality repetitively, the wool gets tangled, so that many fuzz-balls are made at the rubbed surface. Therefore, many fuzz-balls are frequently made at the sleeves or shoulders of clothes.
In addition, dust clinging to the outside can be the reason. One of the features of knitwear is that it absorbs dust easily. This causes dust to make more fuzz-balls in the case of knitwear compared to other clothes. When dust sticks to knitwear, it crumples the wool together and makes fuzz-balls more easily.

How to keep knitwear in good condition

■ After returning home, brush the dust off your clothes.
■ The best way to wash knitwear is hand-washing, not using a washing machine. When using a washing machine, use a washing net to separate knitwear from other clothes.
■ Buy knitwear containing less  polyester fiber.
■ Do not wash knitwear in hot water.
■ Keep knitwear folded for keeping rather than hanging it.

 
How to remove fuzz-balls easily

When you want to try to remove fuzz-balls and search the Internet, many people recommend so many tips, but it is hard to know which one is the best solution. The UOS Times conducted a test of four selected ways – hands, tape, eyebrow trimming knife, and fuzz-ball remover — to clear them away and show the results so that reader can compare these methods easily.
To check the results of each way fairly, the area of a knit muffler and the given time to remove fuzz-balls is kept the same for each method. By showing the amount of fuzz-balls and the surface condition of the muffler after doing each treatment, it will be easy for readers to know the best way that fits with each of them.

 
1. By hand
The most common way of getting rid of fuzz-balls is detaching them by hand. As many people use this way, it was good for removing balls at once from the surface of the muffler. However, more lint appeared while getting rid of fuzz-balls, so its surface did not look neat.

 
2. By eyebrow trimming knife
(People who do not have an eyebrow trimming knife can use the edge of a dull razor.)
Before using the eyebrow trimming knife, spraying diluted softener is good since it protects the clothes’ surface. It seemed to be as effective as doing it by hand, but the surface of the muffler was neater than that of the first method, using hands. Even though it had a sharp side as a knife does, it took time to trim the fuzz-balls off the muffler.

 
3. By using tape
People use tape to remove dust from their clothes. However, it was not an effective way to clear away fuzz-balls. The results were awful, even though the experimenter constantly did taping very hard for one minute. Taping was just good for dust, not fuzz-balls. It was almost useless.

 
4. By fuzz-ball remover from Daiso
It is great for people who want to effectively remove fuzz-balls in a short time. Even though it was the most expensive way among the four, the results were awesome. However, it was cumbersome because people need to empty the lint chamber often when it is full. In addition, fuzz and lint were stuck at the blade and chamber so those who use this need to clean them frequently. (*Ladies who have long hair need to be careful because their hair can be cut by being sucked into the blade!)

For people who have enough time but have no money, the third solution, using an eyebrow trimming knife, will be a good way to remove fuzz-balls. For those who do not have time but have enough money, using fuzz-ball remover is the best way. However, remover might be cheaper than a trimming knife from the view of efficiency – modern society requires a fast and competitive life, and our time is gold. In addition, there is not much of a price difference between the two ways. 

Ji-hye Park
pinkrabbit94@uos.ac.kr

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