Clean Velcro

Hook-and-loop fasteners, such as the VELCRO® brand fasteners, are a breeze to use but can be difficult to keep clean. Clothing fuzz, pet hair and other lint can get embedded in the hook side of the closure, diminishing its ability to close. By removing surface fuzz, picking out embedded lint and performing hook-and-loop fastener maintenance, you can keep your closures clean and working well.

Steps

Removing Surface Lint

1. Roll your hook-and-loop fastener with a lint roller. To remove surface debris, use a lint roller that you’d normally use on your clothes to roll your fastener. Lay the fastener flat, and hold at one end, rolling over it a few times with the lint brush. Refresh to a new sticky “sheet” of the lint roller as necessary.
2. Press your hook-and-loop fastener with duct tape. Cut a piece of duct tape no bigger than your palm, so it doesn’t get unwieldy and stick to itself. Lay your fastener flat, and press the tape into the closure to get it to adhere to as much lint as possible. Holding the fastener firmly at one end, strip the tape away to remove the lint.
   • You can perform this step several times with new pieces of duct tape as necessary.
3. Use your fingernails to scrape the hook-and-loop fastener. Your fingers can be a useful tool to remove any surface lint from your fastener. Lay your fastener flat, and pick off any obvious pieces of thread or hair that may have ends you can grab sticking over the edge. Then, give your fastener a good scrape with your fingernails to remove as much surface lint as you can.

Removing Embedded Lint

1. Use a stiff toothbrush to brush the hook-and-loop fastener. Use a stiff, plain toothbrush (preferably just bristles no gum massagers or other plastic parts) to brush trapped lint out of your fastener. Lay the fastener flat, and apply pressure in short, hard strokes with the bristles from one end of the fastener to the other.
   • Pick any lint that comes to the top of the fastener out with your fingers.
2. Scrape the hook-and-loop fastener with the cutter of a tape dispenser. Use the edge of the tape dispenser that your normally use to cut the tape to scrape your fastener clean. Lay your fastener flat, and use the teeth of the tape dispenser to rake it in short firm strokes from one end to the other.
   • Pick any lint that comes to the top of the fastener out with your fingers.
3. Pick any deep lint out with needle-nose tweezers. For lint that is very embedded in the hooks of your fastener, use a pair of needle-nose tweezers to pick it out. Lay your fastener flat, holding at both ends. Then, use the tips of the tweezers to tease out the debris.

Maintaining a Clean Fastener

1. Brush lint out of your hook-and-loop fastener once a month. To keep your fastener closing well and lint free, clean it once a month. Doing this will keep debris from getting excessively embedded, which is more difficult to remove than surface lint.
2. Fasten the hook-and-loop fastener together before placing it in washer. If your fastener is on an item you wash in the washing machine, fasten the hook and loop sides together before washing the item. This will keep your closure from picking up stray threads or damaging your other clothes in the washing process.
3. Spray your hook-and-loop fastener with anti-static spray after washing. Anti-static spray, such as Static Guard, can make your fastener attract less lint. Spray your fastener after your wash your clothes to minimize debris.

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Sources and Citations

See also

• Clean Ink off the Inside of a Dryer
• Clean Nylon
• Clean Dress Pants
• Clean Dress Shirts
• Wash Acrylic Fibers
• Clean Jeans
• Wash Clothes without a Washing Machine
• Disinfect Laundry
• Remove Lint from Clothes
• Get Fluffy Towels

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