For garments, pilling and fading are simply not very desirable characteristics. To find out what you can do to keep your clothes looking like new for as long as possible, we talked to our Perwoll textile experts and asked:
- What is pilling and fading all about?
- How are the Perwoll Renew & Repair products able to prevent pilling and fading?
- Produkte Pilling und Verblassen beim Waschen verhindern?
- What else can we do to make our clothes last as long as possible?
Here are the answers:
The connection may seem rather tenuous at first, but actually fading and pilling have a lot in common. Let us take a closer look:
Pilling
Also known as "What is this annoying lint on my sweater?" - Pilling is when nodules form on the surface of the textile, making the surface appear rough.
This happens for two main reasons:
1. Nature
All textiles fuzz - some more than others. Most of this is determined by the physical properties of the textiles themselves. Usually, textiles with longer fibers have fewer ends, thus, developing less lint. Knitted fabrics, especially loosely knitted ones, have shorter fibers leaving space between the yarn crossings making them vulnerable.
2. Care
Caring for the clothing provides the second essential aspect. Simply stated: the more friction your garments experience, the more likely they are to form nodules or pilling. However, this does not take much - every time you move, walk, or touch your clothes, you cause some friction. In addition, agitation within the washer and dryer is able to aggravate the problem as well.
Fading
After wearing your garment a few times, you may notice that the color of your clothing looks duller than before. There are two main reasons for this:
1. Color loss
Frequent washing, especially at high temperatures, may cause the colors to bleed. Furthermore, some textiles find it particularly difficult to retain colors. For example, natural fibers such as cotton are generally not as colorfast as their synthetic counterparts.
2. Pilling
Fading caused by pilling? It is all a matter of physics! Colored textiles look best when the fibers have a perfectly flat surface and are able to reflect light in the best possible way. The above-mentioned pilling not only creates knots, but also loose fiber ends that protrude from the textile. These fiber ends ensure that incident light is scattered and refracted and reflected in different directions. To our eye, these textiles appear faded, or rather, it would seem as if a gray haze has developed.
Good question! When it comes to pilling and fading, the innovative formula of Perwoll Renew & Repair offers two benefits at once: on the one hand, the Repair Complex helps to remove loose fibers and smooth fiber breakage - for luminous surfaces and optimal light refraction. This will not only prevent pilling, but also results in a brighter, more intense color. On the other hand, special polymers within the formula help to prevent discoloration during washing and thus not only ensure true color retention, but also provide the well-known Perwoll color refreshing effect.
Of course, there are a few additional things you can do to make sure that your clothes stay looking as good as new for a long time:
- Always read the washing instructions and labels of your garments carefully and follow the instructions.
- Before washing, turn your clothes inside out to protect the surface of the textiles from excessive friction.
- Wash similar colors together to avoid color transfer.
- Use dye trap wipes, which absorb excess dye.
- If possible, use a delicate or hand wash program.
- It is best to dry your laundry in the shade. Some textile colors are gradually destroyed by the UV radiation contained in sunlight and therefore they also fade
- Knitted sweaters should not be hung loosely. Instead, fold them carefully to stow them away
Image credits:
Header image: © Fotalia
Image one: © Stocksy
Image two: © GettyImages
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