<div class="phishy" style="color: green;">How do you clean Velcro so it will stick again?</div>

in i •  4 months ago  (edited)

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 lint get stuck in the little hooks, so they don’t catch on to the soft side of the Velcro anymore. By removing surface fuzz, picking out lint, and washing hook-and-loop fasteners as needed, you can keep your closures clean and gripping tightly to each other.

How do you clean Velcro so it will stick again?
  • Use a lint roller, duct tape, or your fingernails to remove surface lint and debris.
  • Loosen deeper debris with a toothbrush, comb, or the cutter on a tape dispenser.
  • Try rubbing a second piece of Velcro across the first to remove lint.
  • Pick out hair, threads, and deeply embedded lint with tweezers or a pin.
  • Pre-treat any stains, close the Velcro, and then wash it in a washing machine.
  • Spot-clean any stains with laundry detergent on non-washable items.
  • Use rubbing alcohol to remove any sticky residue.

Removing Lint from Velcro

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1 Roll the hook-and-loop fastener with a lint roller.

  • To remove surface debris and make the Velcro stick again, use a lint roller for clothes to clean up the fastener. Lay the hook side of the Velcro on a flat surface. Roll over it a few times with the lint roller. Hold it flat with your other hand if it moves as you use the roller. Peel off the sticky sheet on the lint roller if it’s covered with lint and not grabbing anything.
  • Some people feel that a lint roller isn’t sticky enough to catch the lint stuck in Velcro, but it’s useful for picking up surface fuzz.

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2 Use duct tape to collect surface lint and debris.

Cut a piece of duct tape no bigger than your palm so it’s easier to work with. Lay the Velcro fastener flat, and press the tape into the closure so it sticks to as much lint as possible. Holding the fastener firmly at one end, strip the tape away to remove the lint.

  • Perform this step several times with new pieces to get all of the lint.
  • This method works better for lint and debris that’s closer to the surface.

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3 Scrape the Velcro with your fingernail to pull the fuzz out.

Lay the fastener flat, and pick off any obvious pieces of thread or hair that may have ends sticking over the edge. Then, give the fastener a good scrape with your fingernails to remove as much surface lint as possible.

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4 Use a stiff toothbrush to brush lint out of the Velcro hooks.

House Cleaning Professional James Sears recommends using a stiff, plain toothbrush (without gum massagers or other plastic parts) to brush trapped lint out of the fastener. Lay the fastener flat, and apply pressure in short, hard strokes with the bristles, moving from one end of the fastener to the other

  • Use your fingers to remove any lint you pull to the surface with the brush.
  • A cleaning brush, vacuum with a brush attachment, or slicker brush for pet fur work for larger pieces of Velcro.

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5 Loosen debris or hair with a fine-toothed comb.

Use the teeth of a fine-toothed comb to comb through the hook-and-loop fastener. Hold the comb at a 45-degree angle and use short strokes. Make sure to work the teeth under the fuzz, hair, or debris and lift it to the surface

  • Use the comb or your fingers to remove the debris from the surface of the hook-and-loop fastener.

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6 Use the cutter on a tape dispenser to work lint to the surface.

Use the “toothy” part of a tape dispenser (that cuts the tape) to scrape lint from the Velcro. Lay the fastener flat, and rake the cutter’s teeth along the hooks in short firm strokes

  • Pick any lint that comes to the top of the fastener out with your fingers.

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7 Use another rough piece of Velcro to pull lint from a dirty one.

Use another rough piece of Velcro to pull lint from a dirty one.
Instead of trying to stick the two pieces together, rub the clean Velcro piece against the dirty one. Move in one direction, pushing the fuzz or debris into a roll or ball. Then pick the fuzz ball off of the surface of the new fastener

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8 Pick hard-to-reach debris out of the Velcro with needle-nose tweezers.

Needle-nose tweezers have sharper ends than regular tweezers. This makes it easier to grab onto small pieces. Lay the fastener flat, holding it at both ends. Then, use the tips of the tweezers to tease out the debris.

  • This method works best for string and smaller pieces of lint that are harder to get.

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9 Use a pin or sewing needle to lift lint out from the bottom of the hooks.

Hold the pin between your thumb and finger. Run the sharp end through the hooks, picking up lint as you go. Then, lift the pin to pull the ends of the lint to the surface. Once some of the lint is free, use your fingers to pull the rest of it out of the hooks

  • Lift more lint out with the pin if you aren’t able to pull it all out with your fingers.
  • Be careful not to stick yourself with the sharp end of the pin.
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