Fur-covered clothes

[djorg]

So I am back after a long absence. Have been lurking again for several weeks. As I try to tackle projects certain things block me, as in I just don't know what decision to make. So I am thinking I might post about some of these obstacles and see what others think.

We have 2 very fur-shedding large dogs. I have about 5 garments that are wool that have been on the floor for more than a year. Wool attracts dog hair like nothing else, except maybe microfleece is really bad too.

These garments (women's suit jacket, his and hers wool coats, women's dress, something else that slips my mind) are nice but absolutely inundated with fur. I think if I worked them with a tape-type lint roller it would take 1 roll each and 30-60 min each. Maybe I would have success. The other thing is that they don't currently fit us (too small), although DH and I are dieting and of course, we hope to fit into them in the next couple months.

Do I a) throw them out, b) try to donate them, c) take them to a dry cleaner, d) de-fur them and keep them? I feel like if I go through the effort of de-furring them I would want to keep them. I can't imagine that I can donate them in this condition, or can I? Can I take them to be dry cleaned in this condition? I don't want to be rejected at the dry cleaning place - that would be an awful feeling. I think I can let go and throw them out - the toughest one to let go would be my wool coat, but I can probably do it.

Any thoughts?

[skylark]

If you really are losing weight is this clothing that you truly love and find motivating to use to work toward your weight loss?

If you don't love these items, I say let them go.

If these are items that you LOVE, you could try a roll of duct tape for fur removal instead. It's less money and more effective.

I have 3 dogs (one a golden retriever) and a cat and have the fur problems you mention.

I've made a choice that my dogs are more important to me than certain kinds of fabric. I've eliminated the fur-attractors from my wardrobe and keep a lint roller at home, in my car and at work to try to manage it.

[fluffernut - now Jannie]

If you really like them, will wear them or intend to donate them, try putting them in the dryer with a couple of dryer sheets, let it run on high heat about 15 minutes. I do that when I find cat hair on my good clothes. The sheets are anti-static and will get the fur off.

[joyinvirginia]

I have had some success putting items in dryer with dryer sheet on the no heat cycle. My dryer has a fluff cycle. Try that, then donate the items. If you don't love them, let them go!

[dtesposito]

No, don't donate them like that, since no one at a nonprofit organization has the time to try to clean them. They will likely throw them away, so only donate them if that's the only way you can face having them thrown out!

If they've been on the floor with dog hair, they probably smell like dogs too, so not only do they need de-furring, they will need intensive cleaning. If you're intent on cleaning them, you could always call the dry cleaner ahead of time and ask if they can clean items that are covered in dog fur, that way if they say no you won't be there in person.

Honestly, if they've been unused for this length of time, you don't really need them, right? And if you can't quite fit into them now anyway, you should probably save the time you would spend fixing them up and just throw them out. (How much decluttering could you do in the couple of hours that it would take to de-fur them?) Consider it a lesson learned along the way towards your new decluttered life. When you get your closets and drawers in order you can buy something new to wear that fits, and that you will take better care of.

Diane

PS I especially vote to throw them out since this is an item blocking you. You have full amnesty to not spend any more time or mental energy on these clothes!

[CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity]

Even if you remove most of the doghair yourself -- my experience is that the drycleaner will charge you extra for clothing that has pethair on it -- even if there's only a little bit.

You'd ultimately spend more at the drycleaner than to purchase replacements. Really.

As Diane said, charities would throw the items away due to embedded odors.

You might not detect odors at the moment, but once something gets wet, the odors will reek.

AMNESTY FAIRY says throw them out.


(picture of the Amnesty Fairy using a featherduster as her wand).

[Layla]

agree with what the others said, and if you decide, just keep the coat, give it a whirl with the lint brush and see if its worth it. If not then toss that one also.

Yeah if you donate them they will get tossed.

[messymimi]

Toss them, or cut them up into dog beds and don't worry about the fur.

When you lose the weight, you will want new clothes that are in fashion, or clothes from second hand resale shops that are recent, and you will have earned them.

messymimi

[phoenixcat]

I have lots of cats - the following ways work for me to defur:

1) I would try the dryer method as mentioned - maybe with a damp towel thrown in the dryer too.
2) You might try vacuuming with a hose attachment - similar to what you would do for furniture or small rugs.
3) Damp rags or damp paper towels (sturdy brand) can pick up a lot of hair but you will need to use quite a few.

However, once the de-furring is done - you probably will need to send to a dry cleaner anyway because there will still be pet dirt as well as the smell which may never go away. I had a friend give me one of her silk shirts - beautiful, high quality but the perspiration smell was noticeable. I sent it to the dry cleaner multiple times - even gave up and tried to wash it with lots of soap in the arm pit area - nothing worked - had to throw it away.

I'm another vote for throw them away or leave them as dog beds. One of my cats has taken a very expensive shawl as her bed - sometimes it just happens!

Good luck on your decision.
PC

[dtesposito]

cut them up into dog beds

Oh, good idea!

Diane

[puppybox]

I had and have, re-occuring, the exact same problem. You must NOT WASTE YOUR LIFE trying to salvage them as clothes. Anyway, with wool, you will never suceed. i like the idea of dogbed. you can buy a dogbed cover or even sew a sheet or somethng into a pillowcase type idea and stuff the clothes in. then you can wash the cover occasionally.

[seekingpeace]

love yourself and throw them out!

[scribbliz]

If you can make a dog bed out of them easily I would suggest do that, however, if that feels like too much work, I would throw them out; even if you can get the dog hair out, you may never get the smell out. If you think you have succeeded in getting the smell out, wash them without any soap, or rinse them in the sink to get them wet. when they are wet check for smells. that way you don't find otu during a rainstorm that the smell isn't all the way gone.

[DJ]

I've left wool items down and ended up having the cats sleep on them. I have almost always ended up tossing them. The fur works down into the wool and even after lint rolling it's left me trying to pick fur out of the fabric. The items also then need to be well washed because... they've been used as a pet bed.

I would strongly suggest tossing them or giving them to the dogs as sanctioned bedding. It's a great deal of work, especially for an item that doesn't fit...

I would think of the amount of time and money you could invest in trying to salvage something that you still can't wear at the moment... and think of how much improvement you could make in the rest of your home in that amount of time. Or hey, even what you could do that's ENJOYABLE in the amount of time to salvage them.

[ClutterBlind]

Two things right off the bat that I noticed a couple things people suggested are incorrect for WOOL. Their techniques may work for regular garments, not for WOOL.

IF you place it in a dryer, not NOT use the hot air possible, HEAT shrinks wool. Use the no heat, fluff cycle.

Second, even IF you use the no heat, fluff cycle, do NOT throw in a damp cloth. The abrading along with the dampness will cause the wool to shrink. If you add heat to this, you will get a process known as: felting. It's all over the web how to turn an adult size, wool garment into a child/infant sized piece of FELT in order to make purses & accessories out of the new material.

People who do this technique of making felt items often haunt thrift stores for wool clothing that either have stains or holes in them, or have already accidentally been shrunk down, to re-purpose them for their felt projects. So anyone here who has too small items they have accidentally felted can feel good about donating those items now. However, these items do NOT reek of pet odors.


Now, to get to the matter at hand, djorg, you said:

Jul 29, 2012 2:56:02 GMT -5 djorg said:

I think I can let go and throw them out

Right there, you have your answer. You know you CAN throw them out. Save those precious HOURS you'd be using to de-fur these items that will never love you back as much as the time you'd put into them, into something else.

Even if you get these items de-furred and clean. What will you do the NEXT time they need to be cleaned? Will they end up on the floor again? Will you lovingly care for them once they are cleaned? Or will, more than likely, they end up on the floor again? Is one more wearing, after several hours of de-furring be worth it?


The other thing you said which stuck out for me is:

Jul 29, 2012 2:56:02 GMT -5 djorg said:

Rhe other thing is that they don't currently fit us (too small), although DH and I are dieting and of course, we hope to fit into them in the next couple months.

Are you NOW dieting, and have you & DH both been successfully losing weight that you will realistically fit into these items? If not, you are keeping items for a someday fantasy. A life you really aren't living now. My suggestion is to read this sticky thread: "Buying things for a life I don't lead."

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