How To Get Lint Off Black Clothes

So you've accidentally washed fluffy fabrics together with your clothes, and now you have lint all over your laundry.

I make this mistake all the time, and here are 3 different ways to remove lint from your laundry, compared:

Rewashing the clothes with lint in the washing machine
Using a lint roller (the sticky type)
Using a reusable lint brush (new product)

Here's a picture of my lint-ridden dark clothes from the washer & the fluffy floor mat on the left that caused it:

*Left: My floor mat that causes lint to all of my clothes*

*Close up shot of the lint on my dark clothes*

Let's start with the first solution, rewashing in the washing machine:

Removing Lint by Rewashing Clothes

You might come across these lint/hair nets sold on Shopee. The sales video is pretty convincing, but don't waste your money. I've tried it, and theydo not work:

The net disintegrated after my first wash, and I didn't even have the chance to take a pic of it.

Getting back on topic, I rewashed the lint-ridden clothes in the washing machine on the fastest setting without detergent.

Did it work to remove the lint? Here's how the clothes looked like after about 20 minutes of washing:

*Lint still stuck on clothes even after rewashing*

Verdict: Rewashing lint-ridden clothings does not work. There seem to be no difference in the reduction of lint on my clothes.

Pros of Rewashing

No extra equipment needed

Cons ofRewashing

Does not work – Lint is still there
Waste of water & your time

Now, let's move on to the next lint removing solution:

Removing Lint Using a Lint Sticky Roller

The lint roller is a double-sided sticker wrapped around a handle and is the most common solution to remove lint from black clothes.

To use it, peel off the protective layer to expose the sticker, then roll it over the affected clothing:

*Rolling on the clothes to pickup the lint*

As more lint sticks onto the roller, the stickiness will reduce.

To restore the stickiness, peel off another layer of protective film to expose a fresh layer of sticker on the roller & repeat your cleaning until all lint is gone:

*Removing the protective film on the lint roller*

Although the lint roller is effective & cheap, I don't like that the product contributes to a lot of plastic waste.

Pros of the Lint Roller

Easiest & fastest to remove lint
Cheapest, at around RM5 (USD1) each

Cons of the Lint Roller

Stickiness fades off fairly quickly
You'll contribute to a lot of plastic waste

You can get these at any DIY & even at some clothing department stores, or buy them online at Lazada.

Removing Lint Using a Reusable Lint Brush

The reusable lint brush is 2-sided, and it has the same brush material on the inside of the housing.

You can remove the lint stuck on the brush by inserting the brush into the housing:

The direction of the brush is different on both sides and it will only work if you brush your clothes in 1 specific direction:

*Brushing the lint off using the reusable lint brush*

It takes slightly more force to remove lint with the brush compared to the sticky lint roller.

But the best selling point of the brush is that it's fairly cheap, reusable & the performance is pretty consistent.

Pros of the Reusable Lint Brush

Cheap, at around RM10 & reusable
Consistent lint removing performance
The product feels solid and well built
There's more friction, but it does not fray the fabric

Cons ofthe Reusable Lint Brush

If you brush in the wrong direction, you'll transfer the lint back to the clothes

From my tests, the reusable lint brush is the best product to have at home to remove lint from clothes. Get it online:

How to Prevent Lint on Clothes in the Future

The best way to prevent lint on clothes (especially dark ones) in the future is to:

Wash lint producers seperately (towels, floor mats, anything fluffy)
Seperate & wash light & dark colored clothing seperately

I hope this has been useful, to see other useful home tips, check out my other articles and my YouTube channel: