What makes some kinds of cotton attract cat-fur so strongly?

February 4, 2024 1:15 PM

I have a cat. The fur gets everywhere. Say I have two shirts or two bed-sheets, ostensibly both 100% cotton, where one acts like a powerful & tenacious magnet for the fur but the other does not: why is that so? Is it to do with the type of weave? The way the fabric has been chemically treated (or not)? Is it an electrostatic thing? When buying shirts & sheets in future, I would prefer them not to be fur-magnets: what should I be taking into consideration when purchasing?
posted by misteraitch to Pets & Animals (11 answers total)

Best answer: If they are both 100% cotton, and not a blend, the only thing I would think is whether they've had fabric softener in the washer or dryer. Sometimes too, if they are dried with some synthetics, even with fabric softener they could end up with more static cling than other times. Beyond that, I don't know if a certain kind of weave might make the difference or not... that doesn't really seem like it should, but I suppose it's possible.

Other than that, I have known some companies claiming that they use cotton or linen or some other desirable natural fibre, but in reality they are only cotton-like or linen-like fabrics, and are actually synthetics which have been made to *look * like a typical cotton or linen woven fabric. These typically come from countries that don't have the same regulations that we do.
posted by itsflyable at 1:32 PM on February 4, 2024

What an adorable cat, btw! <3 <3 <3
posted by itsflyable at 1:33 PM on February 4, 2024 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: When it comes to laundry, everything gets put in the same front-loading washing machine with the same amount of fabric softener (i.e. none: maybe that's where I'm going wrong). I don't have a dryer.
posted by misteraitch at 2:19 PM on February 4, 2024 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My guess would be that the non-fur-attracting fabrics were made from ring-spun or mercerized thread, or in a tight, smooth weave like percale. The treatments results in a smoother surface on the thread, without which all the fuzzies act like velcro hooks for your cat fur. ^_^
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 3:12 PM on February 4, 2024 [9 favorites]

Best answer: There is absolutely a difference; I'm a cat owner and I noticed it too just recently after I bought some new sheets. All of my bedding is 100% cotton, and I don't use fabric softener. Nonetheless, I can feel -- literally, with my fingertips -- that the weave does seem different. The "smoother" 100% cotton doesn't attract as much fur as the slightly rougher 100% cotton. I hate it. For the time being, I've been using this heavy duty lint roller which works better than a normal lint roller.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:20 PM on February 4, 2024

Best answer: Short or long staple. Long staple uses expensive long fibres and needs fewer fibres, so there are fewer little ends sticking out to hook the cat hair. Short staple has more short ends sticking out so it acts more like Velcro and grabs the cat hairs.

The other factor is how it's woven- certain weave patterns keep the cotton fibre ends kind of twisted and tied in. Imagine a rope with cheap loose fuzzy twist, or a finely woven expensive rope with a smooth surface. The fancy tight weave is harder to make and better quality and will be used in conjunction with longer staple cotton.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 4:50 PM on February 4, 2024 [4 favorites]

Best answer: It’s mostly the weave. You see it with other materials too - some polyester/spandex leggings attract cat hair, some polyester/spandex leggings basically repel it. You can often predict from the feel of the material if it will attract/repel hair (and lint!) - if it’s smoother & shinier it’s more likely to repel it than if it’s softer & fuzzier.
posted by maleficent at 7:13 PM on February 4, 2024

Best answer: I also have cats, 2 black cats who love to shed their fur. The sheets I have the least harvest of fur from are percale, a kind of tightly woven and very smooth cotton. I'm not a satin sheets person, but I imagine they would not attract fur either - they are very gentle to hair in general, which is why lots of people like using satin pillowcases.

I don't think fabric softener is needed on cottons, and I don't use it on sheets, towels, or cotton jeans and shirts.
posted by citygirl at 7:35 PM on February 4, 2024

Response by poster: Many thanks to you all for your replies: looks like I'll be looking for better quality & smoother surfaces; and meanwhile checking out heavier-duty lint removal.
posted by misteraitch at 11:49 AM on February 5, 2024

Best answer: Also consider trying fabric softener, as it does reduce the tendency of stuff to cling electrostatically.
posted by metonym at 1:26 PM on February 5, 2024

Best answer: I've found that chenille doesn't collect cat hair (at all) for some reason, so you could start with that for a throw over the bed. My bamboo sheets seem to be better than my cotton ones but still not great. Haven't gotten up the gumption to try the really expensive cotton sheets.

For removal, these yellow sponges are the best way to de-hair the sheets before taking them off the bed.
posted by bluesky78987 at 7:38 AM on February 6, 2024 [1 favorite]