Removing Foxtails and Straw from Flannel

We took the family car camping this weekend and now I'm going nuts! The flannel lining of the kids' sleeping bags and their plush acrylic blankets are full of foxtails and straw. I've already tried the lint roller and then duct tape. Both leave little slivers in the fabric. If these weren't the $35 bags I'd give up, but maybe someone can give me a helpful hint. Other than a very tedious encounter with the tweezers, has anyone else tried something that works?

Thanks for any advice!
Jim

(Note to self - next time for summer camping, buy $9 bags from Wally World and leave the 20-degree stuff at home.)

Give your kids a prize for picking all the stuff out of their bags. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The wife and I have been trying a new scheme to enforce discipline. We made a points chart and award points for chores and general helping out. At the end of the chart, they get a prize (my daughter gets a rabbit, and my son a scooter, little does my daughter know that the rabbit will require more work on her part. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />). Mind you, they are still pretty young (6 and 7) and we just want them to start doing something. Later their rewards will decrease and their requirements will increase, so this is a start. Anyways, it has been working (so far). <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Good luck with the bags. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

That's why I don't like fleece, fuzzy, or loosely woven fabrics for camping gear. I've spent too much time picking over socks with tweezers (and the knit lining of athletic shoes-ouch!). I've not found any quicker fix to the awns in socks problem yet.

Nity why not take a piece of fabric similiar to what those things are stuck to and laying it upon them. Just press down or roll the pieces up together, can't see why some of the sticky things would'nt transfer to the less desirable piece of fabric <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Maybe put on some wool mitts and drag the surfaces <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Using any other material to "attract" the foxtails and straw out of the flannel just results in little slivers of straw that are left behind. I tried lint rollers, duct tape, a vacuum with a upholstery tool that has a beater bar, and none worked. You're not going to believe what I finally did to get this stuff out of the material!

After reading the fabric content labels, I saw that everything was either nylon, polyester or acrylic. These materials are nearly non-reactive with HCl (hydrochloric acid - also called muriatic acid or pool acid). So I soaked the bags and blankets in a fairly strong solution of HCl, which breaks down and softens cellulose. Four hours later a whole box of baking soda neutralized the acid and a trip through the coin-op washers got rid of -almost- all the objectionable material. A few seed heads had to be forced back out through the fabric, and they actually could have been left in there since they get lost in the batting.

You CAN NOT use this method on anything containing natural fibers. HCl will destroy natural fibers. Also off the list are anything made of rayon or acetate which are derived from cellulose. And if the bag has any metallic zippers, your also out of luck.

Now there's an angle that never crossed my mind! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> Seems extreme but you had no success other ways so glad it worked. Like to know the longevity of those items down the road after that treatment.

It was pretty much try the acid, attempt a biological experiment, or contribute to the landfill. So far so good. I'll let you know if things start coming apart down the road.

I actually think it worked - not because it dissolved the straw and foxtails (which it didn't) - but because it dissolved the tiny little hooks those things use to stick to animal fur. I suppose the biological method would have worked too (wet the fabric and let nature do the same thing in a week) but I wasn't sure I could live with the residual smell.