# What is the name of those little lint rolls on sweaters, and how do I remove them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 5, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-those-little-lint-rolls-on-sweaters-and-how-do-i-remove-them/498792 "2009-06-05T07:17:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-those-little-lint-rolls-on-sweaters-and-how-do-i-remove-them/498792/1 "2009-06-05T07:17:59Z")
You know those tiny rought rolls of fabric lint that you get on an sweater when it has been worn a couple times? I can’t search for an earlier thread or a picture, because I don’t know the word for it. And how do I remove them? I have bought gadgets [like](http://fotos.marktplaats.com/kopen/8/17/YnPsJQNlME6UvNVwTINVOg==.jpg) [these](http://www.actie.nl/images/product_image/img47d7f9869ddeb-pluizentondeuze.png) but they don’t work at all, is my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-those-little-lint-rolls-on-sweaters-and-how-do-i-remove-them/498792/2 "2009-06-05T07:40:14Z")
They’re called [pills](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pill_(textile)). You could say, for example, that “my wool sweater is pilling at the elbows.” Here is an item called a [sweater stone](http://www.amazon.com/Sweater-Stone-Inc-84459-3%252e5X2%252e5%2522/dp/B000WUXOT2) that is supposed to get rid of pills. I have never tried one, so I don’t know how well it works. And here is a [fabric comb](http://www.amazon.com/DRITZ-D-Fuzz-It-Fabric-Comb/dp/B0001DUWFO/ref=pd_sbs_k_3). ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-those-little-lint-rolls-on-sweaters-and-how-do-i-remove-them/498792/3 "2009-06-05T07:47:37Z")
Articles on sweater pills: [Why fabrics pill](http://www.diylife.com/2007/12/28/why-fabrics-pill-featuring-a-free-sweater-stone-de-piller-for-y/) [Remove sweater pills with a disposable razor](http://www.diylife.com/2007/12/26/remove-sweater-pills-with-a-disposable-razor/) [Use a Disposable Razor to Remove Sweater Pills](http://lifehacker.com/337160/use-a-disposable-razor-to-remove-sweater-pills) ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-those-little-lint-rolls-on-sweaters-and-how-do-i-remove-them/498792/4 "2009-06-05T12:37:18Z")
I’ve used disposable razors for years on sweaters. Works like a charm. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-those-little-lint-rolls-on-sweaters-and-how-do-i-remove-them/498792/5 "2009-06-05T13:23:45Z")
My wife swears by her sweater razor, similar to the ones the OP links. I know her’s works very well. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-those-little-lint-rolls-on-sweaters-and-how-do-i-remove-them/498792/6 "2009-06-05T13:56:12Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > I have bought gadgets [like](http://fotos.marktplaats.com/kopen/8/17/YnPsJQNlME6UvNVwTINVOg==.jpg) [these](http://www.actie.nl/images/product_image/img47d7f9869ddeb-pluizentondeuze.png) but they don’t work at all, is my experience. I’ve used pill-shaver gadgets like that with success, though it’s always more work than you’d think it should be. It takes a particular light touch, a particular speed moving over the sweater (you figure these out by experimenting), and repeated passes. It helps if the batteries are fresh and the pill hopper is emptied frequently. If the pills you’re trying to remove are on average larger than the holes in the gadget, it may take many many passes, as the gadget can only slice off part of each pill each time. (If the holes were simply larger, you’d risk slicing off too many unpilled fibers, damaging the sweater.) Different fibers and different yarns make different sized pills and have different tensile strengths, so a given gadget may work beautifully on one sweater and not well at all on another.