19 January, 2023

Fuzz-B-Gone

I have had one of these hand-held fuzz removers for 50 years. I remember where I bought mine, in the cash register checkout line, where they hang all those last minute impulse-buy temptations, at Osco Drug in the Tippecanoe Mall, Lafayette, IN, back in 1973 or '74. I worked across the hall at the Singer store in those days, before I was married. I really had no business buying anything on a whim, it was basically a hand to mouth existence in back then, which is probably why I remember this purchase, out of guilt. It likely cost less than a dollar; but, this was the hey-dey of polyester double knit everything, and it was just the tool that I thought that I needed at the time. It certainly did serve me well, saw decades of use, and always did a fabulous job of ridding sweaters and the like from pesky fuzz balls. Over time it slowly lost it's effectiveness, though. The plastic handle became brittle and cracked and the little de-fuzzer teeth either fell out or dulled to the point that the tool was deemed useless a few years back. I admit to being intrigued by the battery operated fabric shavers when they hit the market but have resisted, until now. I suppose my hesitancy was based on the loyalty that I felt to my old, trusty, fabric-comb friend; we'd come a long way together. 
On Tuesday this handy-dandy tool came to live with me. I had a stack of sweaters that needed attention and this sleek, two-speed dynamo cleaned them up in seconds flat, neatly pulling the fuzz into the receptacle in the handle for quick and easy disposal.
You can easily see the before and after on this knit sweater vest. The results are impressive. It's rechargeable and works like a dream. I'm happy with the purchase but I'll never have the same relationship with this whiz-bang tool that I did with that fifty-years-ago, checkout-line, defuzzer comb. Progress is a good thing, don't get me wrong; but in my memory that d.fuzz.it was all that, and always will be! 

Life is Good!   

7 comments:

Marie said...

Hi, I too have one of the original shavers and so far it is working, but i love how well your new one is cleaning up that fabric. May I ask where you ordered your new one? Have a grand day and I look forward to your posts. Hugs, Marie

Janet O. said...

I enjoyed your story, and recall very well the hand-to-mouth existence of my college/pre-marriage days. The guilt of such an "extravagant" purchase was real!
I have had a battery powered de-fuzzer for a couple of decades (am actually on my second), but results are not as stunning as yours, and it eats batteries! Will definitely check into this brand. Thanks for the recommendation. I have a section of my closet full of sweaters that thank you, as well. ;)

Kyle said...

I still have my defuzzer! I was actually wondering, not to long ago, if they even made them anymore. Nice to know there's an alternative. 😊

Quiltdivajulie said...

I presume it works on pilled fleece as well? I have several items that would benefit from one of these.

AnnieO said...

What a great story, thanks for sharing! I remember several impulse buys when I was low on cash. I have a vivid memory of my mother, on one occasion, letting us 5 kids put whatever we wanted from the shelves at the local drugstore into her cart. I'm sure she was tired of always counting pennies as a family of 7, and only one income from our dad. In the end, she realized she couldn't spend that money, and we put the items back. She apologized, but we all understood.

cityquilter grace said...

yep those new fangled sweater shavers are great! welcome to the 21st!

Tanya said...

I guess I've always just lived with fuzz as I've never used either type. Maybe that's why my sweaters don't look so great. I'll check it out the next time I get to a yarn/fabric store.