This $20 Amazon fabric shaver with 15K reviews made my clothes look 100 times better
After years of frustration with pilling, I turned to this affordable gadget.
Scroll down for my full review of the Ruidla Fabric Shaver.
If you’re anything like me, you like to think you take care of your clothes — and couldn’t be more irritated when your carefully-hung-to-dry garments begin to pill. When this happens, I often wind up up passing up on wearing my favourite sweaters and sweatshirts because they just look so…awful.
Last year, I reached a breaking point and finally decided to try out a fabric shaver. TBH, I had low expectations — but I couldn't be happier with the results, and I'm happy to share that this simple, affordable device has absolutely changed the game for me. Read on for my full review!
Ruidla Fabric Shaver
This popular fabric shaver is an affordable way to refresh your knits.
Takeaways
🛍️ Product reviewed: Ruidla Fabric Shaver
⏰ Tested for: 2 months
💵 Price: $20
⭐ My rating: 4.5/5
⭐ Amazon shopper rating: 4.3 stars
🛍️ Reasons to buy: Easy to use, makes clothes and furniture look brand new, can be safely used on a variety of fabric types (even delicates), ships quickly from Amazon, small enough to travel with you (if needed)
✋ Reasons to avoid: Lint collector is slightly difficult to remove, lots of other models out there
What is a fabric shaver?
A fabric shaver is a handheld electric device with a rotating blade underneath a “blade net,” and allows users to remove fuzz and pills on a fabric without damaging the fabric. It can be used on fabrics (like curtains or carpet), furniture (like chairs or sofas) as well as on clothing — especially sweaters and sweatshirts.
The "blade net" means that the external surface that glides along the actual fabric is smooth and the pills get pulled into the receptacle that holds the razor to remove them, ensuring that the fabric is not damaged in the process. These devices are typically very easy to use because of their singular function — you basically just have to turn then on and you're good to go.
Alternatively, a traditional single-blade razor could be used for the same function, but requires a specific technique and results can vary depending on the fabric.
What is a fabric shaver used for?
Long story short: anything! There is virtually no fabric that this can’t be used on.
While the common ones are sweaters, wool coats, couches and even carpets, the way fabric shavers are designed, they can help remove buildup from practically any fabric.
This popular fabric shaver is an affordable way to refresh your knits.
Ruidla Fabric Shaver: The details
I chose this specific fabric shaver from dozens of available models on Amazon because it had the best reviews for those in the same price range. This isn’t a revolutionary technology, so I didn’t spring for a high-tech option, although I’m sure there are some luxe versions out there.
This small travel-friendly fabric shaver comes with a USB charger for easy re-charging, and features the razor function as well as a small lint container where fabric shavings are stored short-term. I don’t live in a home with small children or animals, but if I did I might suggest putting the device in a safe place out of reach, just in case of mishandling.
Fabric shaver results: Before and after
To test this shaver, I got to worn on a beloved sweater that's seen better days.
I've had this sweater for about 4 years now, and although I wash it according to best practices for wool sweaters, it has developed some pilling, mostly from wearing coats overtop during the winter, and from crossbody purse straps across the front.
Removing the pills took about 5 minutes and the sweater looks virtually brand new. I anticipate having to shave it regularly now that I know how easy and effective it is, but overall this result should last a while. I also used it on lots of other clothing pieces and furniture, but I waited to do this one until I trusted the device, because it's the most delicate of the bunch.
For reference, this probably wasn't the sweater that saw the most improvement, but certainly was the most delicate piece I tried it on, and there was no damage to the piece whatsoever. Plus, being such a bright white, I have noticed a huge difference in how fresh it looks when I wear it.
This popular fabric shaver is an affordable way to refresh your knits.
What other shoppers are saying
While there are tons of similar products, like I mentioned, this brand has great reviews — with 81 per cent of nearly 16,000 reviewers giving a 4-star rating or higher, with shoppers calling out its long battery life and ease of use.
"Works well, convenient, easy to use," said one shopper.
"It has renewed all my clothes," echoed another.
However, a key piece of feedback from buyers (that I would agree with) is that it is difficult to remove the lint collector to clean the tool out. It's a bit of a catch-22, because the tool is quite effective — but it does require frequent emptying. A minor complaint, but worth noting.
The verdict: Is it worth it?
Is it worth it to fork out $20 to get my $100+ sweaters to look brand new? A thousand times yes!
I'd absolutely recommend this gadget because of the affordability and ease of use, but also because of the inevitability of wear on clothes. In my experience, it seems that even if you take amazing care of your garments, you're still bound to run into pilling. This handy device has helped me refresh the garments in my closet, and has also prevented me from spending money on new clothes. Worth it!
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