How to Get Burrs Out of Clothes? [Most Effective Ways]

Having burrs on your clothes or your hair is not the best experience. They have a ton of spikes on them that can cause skin irritation and rashes. These spikes can stay on your clothes if you do not remove the burrs correctly. This is why you must learn how to remove the burrs in the best way possible. 

If you want to learn how to remove burrs from clothing, you have come to the right place. There are a ton of helpful tips that you can find online. I have tried out most tips and tricks for removing burrs from clothing so you would not have to!

So, you can feel free to read through this guide to learn the best burr removal practices. A step-by-step guide will be given below that you can follow whenever you find some burrs on your clothes. Let’s see how to remove them and all their dreadful spikes!

How to Get Burrs Out of Clothes? [Step-By-Step]

If you want to remove burrs from clothing, you are in for some work. The stubborn burrs can be pretty challenging to remove because they have spikes that can remain in the garments even if you remove the bulkiest part of the plant.

To help guide you through the removal process, I have created a list of the most effective burr-removing methods. These methods should be helpful. So, let us get started with the guide and see what you need to do to remove the sticker burrs from your garments.

Step 1 – Let the clothing soak

After a hike, the first thing you need to do is inspect your clothing for burrs. If you find some burrs, you need to soak the clothing. You must do this as soon as possible, even with the most delicate fabric.

You should place the clothing in warm water with detergent for a while. The water will make the burrs less sticky. Once the burrs soften, they should start floating on the water. Use your hands to remove these burrs but be careful and protect your hands.

Step 2 – Dry the clothing

After you have washed the clothing, the best thing to do is place them in direct sunlight to dry. You can also use a drier. The instructions for the machine drying process will be listed in the following section.

So, let the clothing dry for as long as needed. As the material dries, the burrs will start falling off. Again, you can use gloves to take the burrs and place them in a plastic garbage bag you will throw away later.

Otherwise, you risk getting the burrs stuck on some other clothing or having them rub on your skin. Both are not the best choices, so put in the work to dismiss all burrs and spikes.

Step 3 – Use a comb

If the burrs are still stuck on your clothes, you should consider using a fine-tooth comb to remove them. You should get a quality comb that will remove burrs with one swipe. Here is what you can do once you have the comb!

Put the garment on a flat surface that you have access to. Then, use the comb to remove the burrs one by one. As you get to the burr, gently work on detaching the burr from the material and flick it away from the clothing. At the same time, try to keep them away from you.

Next, inspect the fabric for remaining spikes. If you find any, you can proceed to the next step and learn how to remove each one. As for the removed burrs, throw them away as soon as possible.

Step 4 – Use duct tape

If you see spikes, try the duct tape method to remove them. Put the duct tape over the spikes and remove it with a swift motion. It is almost like an epilation for your clothing.

You can repeat this method as many times as needed and wherever necessary. Duct tape is very effective, but if you see that burrs are not coming out, you can try one of the other methods to remove them. That takes us right into the next step.

Step 5 – Use tweezers

Using tweezers to remove burrs or spikes can be difficult, but it is worth it. You need to go all over the clothing and remove every spike from them. Otherwise, you risk the spikes rubbing on your skin and causing you to get a rash.

Step 6 – Consider burr removing tools

There are many excellent burr-removing tools that you can try out. Since they can be expensive, you do not need to invest in them unless you can and want to. Other alternative tools you can turn to are a lint remover or a lint roller.

Under no circumstance should you use a razor to remove the burrs. The razor will only shorten the spikes of the burr and leave them in the material. So, make sure that you stir clear of this method and go with some of the other methods.

Can You Wash Burrs Out of Clothes?

Now that you know some of the most effective ways to remove burrs from clothing, I want to mention another method that people often ask about. The question is whether you can wash burrs out of clothes.

As you can see in the step-by-step guide above, you can wash clothes before you remove the burrs. Still, you need to keep in mind that washing the clothes only will not be enough to remove all the burrs. It is almost impossible to remove all the burrs with this one step.

Even though I recommend washing your clothes by hand and soaking them, you can try removing the burrs with a washing machine. If you decide to use the machine, you should put it at a hot temperature and high water level. The swirling water will make the burrs less sticky, even when set in a delicate setting.

Then, you can throw the clothes from the washer right into the drier. Put it on high heat and let the clothing dry. Your best bet is that most of the burrs will be coming out because of the heat. Once the cycle is over, you can remove the clothes and use some of the steps from the guide above to remove the remaining spikes.

But here is another helpful tip – always go back to the washing and drying machine to remove the burrs and loose spikes. This can be time-consuming, but it is worth it. Otherwise, you will risk getting some of the burrs or spikes on your other clothing.

Wrap-Up

As soon as you see that they have infected your clothing, do your best to remove as many burrs as possible. Whether you use a washing machine or wash the clothing by hand, remember to follow the steps given above. Also, grab a fine-tooth comb, duct tape, lint remover, tweezer, and a plastic bag. You can use all these things or a combination of some to remove burrs.

Have you ever had to deal with burrs? Let me know what that experience was like and what you consider the best way to remove these rascals. I would love to know about it, so please share your stories in the comments below.