black clothes and lint - how do you cope???
 

hi all
i dont usually travel in black clothes because i dont usually invest in them
however
this time
i am packing a couple of black pants of different weights and styles for russia and scandinavia, thinking they will serve me well in the city touring
i bought some great walking shoes too - black

i have bought a lint roller ( which promptly broke and now i have three refills ..bummer)
and i have mini travel size lint brush

but im tempted to just pack some packaging tape and do the de-linting with it wrapped round my hand or even using the 'waxing method' lol

any hints?

my hairdresser, a horse lover, told me the trick was to put soiled clothes into a dryer prior to washing to get lint and hair off dark clothing but im not confident...
i hardly use the dryer, preferring to dry naturally, and im scared garments will shrink...
but it sounds like a dream - to get all the fluff off in one go!

what do you people think? obviously i cant rely on the dryer method when travelling...'
do you pick up much lint on aircraft?
has anyone used the 'wet cloth' method?

any help appreciated
( and, no , im not re-thinking the black pants lol- theyre definitely coming even if i do end up looking like a lamington!!)

Lint? Really. You're worried about lint?

Maybe you're a lint magnet LOL but I wear black all the time, especially when traveling and don't have lint on me (or not enough to worry about). Do you have pets (cats and dogs do shed and leave fur, especially on black). I guess the blankets on planes will leave lint but by the time I've arrived a little lint is the last thing I'm worried about.

Putting the clothes in the dryer for a few minutes will not shrink them. I always put my clothes in the dryer for about 5 minutes to get the excess water out and remove wrinkles so I don't have to iron them and then hang them up to dry. Works great.

A damp (not wet) wash cloth will remove wrinkles but it could leave more lint on black clothes.

I'd buy another lint roller and bring that if you're really worried about lint.

I think you should have this post moved to the lounge; you'll get some interesting answers there.

Bon Voyage!

lol artsbabe
i worry a lot

and it just so happens, according to my calendar, the time has come to worry about lint

i HATE ABHOR lint

i notice lint on people before i notice their hair colour!


now over to adrienne

it is not the dogs im worried about
it is my flokati rugs ( thanks to the greeks for that)
who woulda predicted all that shedding by an inanimate object?
no sooner do i let go of a pant leg than it becomes a magnet for all the flokati floaters

i need some machine/ device that will suspend my pants so i can leap into them

or i need to learn to levitate


i admire lint-free people....
(from afar)

i dare not go near them

Well, there is a reason why dryers have lint traps. They're very good at removing lint. If you leave the house lint-free, and don't bring those greek rugs with you, you should be fine.

Unless you live in a house with pets I don;t understand why lint is such an issue. (Hairs from blac/white/grey cats was a problem - it showed up on everything.)

And if your rugs are shedding that muchI would be more concerned aobut what you're breathing in than what's on yuor pants. Have you had them professionally cleaned? If you have and they're still shedding like that I would dump them.

I've never had a lint roller break. I take one of the small travel sized ones as well as a small folding lint brush. You could, I suppose, take a small travel roll of duct tape as it is useful for many other purposes also.

I wear a lot of black and one of my pet peeves is white restaurant napkins that always leave lint on my clothes.

Of course, I also have a Golden Retriever so I'm constantly using my lint brushes. I keep one by the back door so as I leave the house, I can give myself a quick swipe!

I was just pondering this dilemma the other day as I was trying to get dog hair and lint off of my clothes. I wondered why some people never have lint and I am constantly warring with it.

Take one of those brushes that are sort of rough material that you can use over and over, I have one that flips direction and I always take that on a trip. I have a larger one for the room and a small one in my purse.

Yes, napkins in fine restaurants put lint on my black clothes. That is a problem I haven't worked out yet, sometimes the white tablecloths
leave lint too. I was thinking of taking a black napkin to put under the restaurant's white one.

I wear black all the time and don't have any lint problem and don't travel with lint rollers. The idea of putting clothes in the dryer first sounds goofy to me, but as I said, I have never had a lint problem. If you are washing clothes, they would have to be cotton or a synthetic, wouldn't they? In which case if you had lint, you could brush it off, couldn't you? I would think the things lint sticks to a lot would be wool and things like that which you wouldn't be putting in the washer (except maybe fleece, which is poly and can be a lint magnet).

I do have a lint problem when I visit my sister who has a dog that has white hair and sheds all over, but don't see any real problem when traveling as you wouldn't be around pets.

I think you should not worry so much about trivial things

We live with two fawn pugs that shed ALOT, and I basically only wear black...I use one of those sticky lint remover rollers...works like a charm!

Maybe people who have a lot of static in their bodies attract a lot of lint. I don't seem to have a problem with either static or lint but then I'm not that picky about lint. I do notice that the airplane blankets shed a lot on black clothes.

Fabric softener sheets in the dryer helps alleviate it. DH's black nylon socks were lint magnets (not to mention that they got lost in the armpits and crotches of other pieces of apparel not to be disovered until embarrassing moments in public when the sock fell out) until we tried this.

Christina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
worrying over lint is not a trivial thing!!!!!!!

when travelling i am representing my country
who knows who i may offend with careless brush of a linty garment
come on!
share the world!
lol

you know i could be worried about a cancerous mole but that only happens on weekends- since it is a weekday i am free to worry about lint

i think we should have one international day for lint sufferers

now what ribbon can we wear???
just about every colour is taken

i love the way lint in the machine always comes out the same colour
i think lint is Gods true little marvels

jamikins
i sympathise with the pug situation
the one reason i didnt get one- after i saw the breeders backyard...looked like it was a snow field and we dont get snow here!


adrienne
i like your theory
maybe it isnt static
maybe it is just that electric quality
that spark i have lol lol
'animal magnetism'
it sure attracts the gypsies when i travel - so it isnt just lint, see


haha TDudette- the blackhole of sockdom
that is funny!

nytraveler

i cant just 'dump' my flokati rugs

theyre made of wool- not asbestos fibres!

i consider them 'organic' lol


if my kids get to live with me, so do my flokati rugs

Thanks lanejohann! I guess dye-ing one's animals black is a bad idea....

I have a real problem with lint on my black clothes, also. I usually hang my slacks to dry, since I don't want them to shrink. I certainly am not shrinking these days, so my pants had better not either! So, I put the dry slacks and a fabric softener sheet in the dryer and set the dryer on "air fluff" for about 10 - 15 minutes. This helps remove the lint. I believe some synthetic fabrics just attract lint. I also use Static guard.

gothic pets
now..theres an idea!
but black flokati---that is dangerous decorating

reeks of devildom and sacrificial victims!

When I'm traveling, I take the baggage tag off my suitcase, wrap it around my hand, and take lint off that way.

Marsh - I think my theory about lint and static is true. You get lint and need static guard.

landjohann - you do have a spark. I hope your sparky self and your lint free garments are representing the USA! :)

I meant lanejohann - can't type!

I wear a lot of black, in fact I usually travel with black pants and skirts almost exclusively, and I've come to believe it's the fabric. Some fabrics attract and hold onto lint and others don't. Some cottons have a 'softer' finish which attracts lint and some have a harder or more glazed finish which doesn't, same with wools. Most of traveller's-style knits don't hold lint at all, but a few do. It's one of the things always in the back of my mind when I shop and I try to buy only the most lint-free.

I usually cut off the feet from old stockings/pantyhose, pull one over my hand and use it to remove the lint. It works pretty well and doesn't take up any room at all in a purse or backpack or suitcase.

Marsh i am going to try that with the fabric softener sheet - i wonder if i do have an 'air fluff' setting on my dryer ( one machine i have not fully experimented with, obviously)

and thanks Julia for your tip - ill try the pantyhose trick

speaking of lint, i went into a clothing store today and saw linty black pants hanging on the racks
LINT IS TAKING OVER THE WORLD!!!

thanks for your vote of confidence, Adrienne
i have visited your country and want to return
apart from the beauty of the land, you guys have more varieties of bagels ever!!!!

So what country do you represent? You've not put any info in your profile. Inquiring minds need to know!

Adrienne
i am from oz
theres a few of us on here!

You'd better keep up the standards since I've never seen a linty Aussie! :)

oh hahaha adrienne
i must be the only lonely 'lamington' then!

i am working on standards - dont you worry

if i have to hand groom every article i take, i will but lintless i will be!

I have this 4" x 1" travel lint remover. The cover opens to become a handle and there's a tacky roller for removing lint that works very well. When full of lint, you just rinse it off and let it dry. I've had it for years (no clue where I got it).

A microfiber washcloth (dry) works great, too.

I travel with a lot of black, and, except for my cashmere blazer and the occasional black sweater, hardly ever have a problem with lint.

How do I cope? I am nearsighted.

Good luck!

How do you cope with being obsessed with lint?

I have made something like 200 trips to Europe and never once, once, worried about lint. I don't worry about it at home here, either. I'm totally mystified by this. I can think of a thousand things to get torqued about regarding a trip to Europe, but lint? LINT? Seriously, if lint is an issue with you, I can only begin to imagine the horrors you will encounter in Europe.

Hey, Lane,
This is a funny thread, but I understand it. I have lots of pets, gray one, black & white, brown & gold, multi-striped, even a red Aby. I always say, I have fur to contrast with and decorate everything I wear. I went to a party once and went to get my coat. Another guest was looking for her green coat. The hostess held up my green coat and asked if it was hers. The guest looked at it agahst and replied something to the effect that it "looked liked rats had slept on it" and no "it most certainly wasn't" hers. I pretended I was looking for another guest and slipped out. So, I understand your pain.

I got rid of the green coat.

What I have found is some fabrics just pick up more lint than others. I have some great black pants that nothing seems to stick to and others that seem to suck stuff towards them. Now, I try to check it out in the store to see if stuff will stick to it before I buy it, and I do think about it for traveling. I don't mind a little fur, but don't want to look like "rats slept on me either."

I've slept with a lot of rats and I'm not ashamed of it at all.

By the way, I've been drinking.

I did read the post above about lint-attracting people. I am one of those and I'm also one of those people who gets tons of static cling no matter what I wear, even when I wear a slip. So maybe there is something to the adrienne's theory. After a big glass of wine I stop caring.

Avoid white napkins, at all costs.

I just got back from a brief business trip during which I noticed white pet hair on my navy blazer. The only way it could have got there was when hanging in the closet on the plane, rubbing against a fellow passenger's garment. I foolishly tried to remove it using a damp washcloth in the hotel room - trust me, that does not work. Guess I need to start packing a lint brush or a roll of duct tape.

Leely2, Were you sleeping on my coat with the rats? I thought it was more than just cat hair.

Have you ever dried something like a fluffy towel or a sweatshirt and seen the lint that is produced..it has NOTHING to do with animal hair

The problem with using tape of any kind is that it leaves a sticky residue on the clothing itself -- which attracts more lint.

Lint is not a problem on smooth black cloth, and for travel, I only wear black synthetics. Acetate (slinky) is especially great for never attracting lint. (I have two strawberry blonde cats.) Sweaters, wools and velvet are just lint magnets.

Clothes dryers are great, but I don't have one in Italy!

I have found a dry sponge can be good.

We don't have lint in Europe. :)

djkbooks
i will try the microfibre towel - thanks for that
i have checked my dryer and there is no setting for 'airfluffing'

Leely youre lucky - lint is an eyesore so dont go getting your eyes fixed with any of that fancy eye surgery
the world can be an ugly place! lol

Iregeo- i havent noticed the effect of white napkins - oh to add to my terrors!

shame about the damp cloth not working for you Seamus cos i was just trying it out on a fleece and it was doing a good job but i think ive got RSI now!

zeppole- i notice that with my synthetic pants too but some nonetheless attract a lot of lint - have to know the chemical composition of the fibre i think - that is for the experts lol

kerouac- the lint thing..dont worry it will catch on! europe is only a few hours away afterall

and st cirq- lucky you- all those trips! as for the lint - hey dont worry- i wont be worrying about it when im biting through my lip as we drive the trolls road in norway!

i might be more worried about hurtling down the side and wondering about how long it takes an emergency helicopter to come in after me ...and whether they bother retrieving linty people anyway!
i am SO not going to wear anything that attracts lint THAT day - dont want the rescue crew tut-tutting about the lint avalanche that i caused

rest assured, theres plenty more for me to worry about this trip- im just getting starting!

You're from Oz? Ex South African with a name like Johann? Live in Perth do you?
Just about every lad from the dutch side of this nation is called Johann!
Nice name.

About getting rid of lint, which I've never noticed sticking to my black pants, black shirt, black sweater, black coat etc., : If it's already on your clothes use PRESTICK by dabbing a big clump of it on the lint.
To avoid getting lint adhering to your clothes (through electricity) put a little fabric softner over the palms of your hands, and lightly smooth over your garment covering as much as you can, even re-appplying until all done. This may help to repell the lint.

Best of luck OzzieJohann!

I think Leely2's advice is the best of all - just keep drinking and even if you can see the lint you won't give a darn about it. :)

I'm near sighted too - maybe that's why I don't notice the lint!

About the static cling - rub hand/body lotion on your bare legs or stockings and that will definitely help. And avoid those nylon slips which contribute to the static.