Lint (material)
Lint | |
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Material type | Visible accumulations of textile fibers and other materials |
Lint is the common name for visible accumulations of textile fibers, hair and other materials, usually found on and around clothing. Certain materials used in the manufacture of clothing, such as cotton, linen, and wool, contain numerous, very short fibers bundled together.[1] During the course of normal wear, these fibers may either detach or be jostled out of the weave of which they are part. This is the reason why heavily used articles such as shirts and towels become thin over time and why such particles accumulate in the lint screen of a clothes dryer.[1]
Because of their high surface area to weight ratio,
.The etymology of the modern word "lint" is related to "linting", the term used for the cultivation of the shorter fibers from the cotton plant (Gossypium), also called "lint", from which lower-quality cotton products are manufactured.[2] Lint is composed of threads of all colors, which blend hues and may appear to be a uniform grey.[3]
Varieties of lint
Cotton lint
Cotton lint refers to the fibrous coat that covers the cotton seeds. Cotton lint is
Dryer lint
Dryer lint is lint generated by the drying of clothes in a
Navel lint (also known by names such as navel fluff, belly button lint, belly button fluff, and dip lint) is an accumulation of fluffy fibers in the
Pocket lint
Pocket lint (also known as gnurr
As pocket lint is an amalgamation of the contents of the pockets, pocket lint can be helpful when determining whether drugs have been previously stored in the pockets, by testing it with various drug tests. In a survival situation, pocket lint can be used as tinder for starting a fire.[10]
The Infocom game, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was sold with a collection of "props" that included a small bag of "pocket fluff".[11]
Biological problems
Inhalation of excessive amounts of lint, as observed in early textile workers, may lead to diseases of the lungs, such as
Mechanical problems
Lint contamination also presents what may be the most serious threat of damage to delicate mechanical devices.
Other problems
Lint on clothing is generally considered unattractive and unprofessional. Furthermore, lint may be abrasive and may damage the clothing itself.
Dryer lint, which collects on the lint screen of a
Uses of lint
Composting
It is possible to compost lint retrieved from the lint screen on a dryer by adding it to other materials being composted. The texture of the material allows the organic matter within it to compost quickly and easily, but depending on the source, it may include inorganic fibers and materials which never break down.[26]
Forensic science
Lint is useful to examine in forensic science because it is accumulated over time, and because the fibers shed from clothing adhere to not only that clothing, but also other particles to which the carrier is exposed. The lint on a person's clothing is therefore likely to contain material transferred from the various environments through which that person has passed,[27] enabling forensic examiners to collect and examine lint to determine the movements and activities of the wearer.[28][29] Examiners may use various chemicals to isolate lint fibers from different articles of clothing based on differences in color and other characteristics.[30]
Tinder
Dryer lint burns readily. Although this may present a hazard in the household, it also means that lint makes excellent
Wound treatment
Lint was used as a form of wound treatment for cuts and sores as early as 1500 BC and as recently as the American Civil War.[32] Lint used specifically for treating wounds was sometimes referred to as charpie.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Welker, R. W.; Nagarajan, Ramamurthy; Newberg, Carl E. (2006). Contamination and ESD Control in High-Technology Manufacturing. pp. 415–16.
- ^ Hollen, Norma R.; Saddler, Jane (1952). Modern Textiles. p. 14.
- ^ Glass, Don (October 16, 2008). "The Color of Lint". A Moment of Science. Indiana Public Media. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ "Cotton Lint - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
- ^ "Cotton lint Definition". Law Insider. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
- ^ Underwriters Laboratories product safety tips – clothes dryers Archived 2014-03-05 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "clothes dryer fire safety outreach materials", 'U.S. Fire Administration',
- ^ Zollinger, Sue Anne (23 March 2011). "What Is Bellybutton Lint?". Indiana Public Media. Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ Paul Dickson, Words: A Connoisseur's Collection of Old and New, Weird and Wonderful, Useful and Outlandish Words (1983), p. 182: "Gnurr. The substance that over time collects in the bottoms of pockets and the cuffs of trousers".
- ^ a b "Catching A Spark from Flint And Steel: Fire Building Basics", Prepper Bits, 30 September 2018.
- ^ Blake Wilson (September 18, 2008). "'Hitchhiker's Guide': The Game "Arts Beat"". The New York Times.
- ^ Yafa, Stephen (2006). Cotton: The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber.
- ^ Raheel, Mastura (1994). Protective Clothing Systems and Materials. p. 19.
- ^ Kulkarni, G.S. (2008). Textbook of Orthopedics and Trauma. p. 296.
- ^ URGENT CARE (October 20, 2015). "What Is Toe Jam?". upmc.com. Post updated May 11, 2016.
- ^ Hurd, Barbara (2005). Entering the Stone: On Caves and Feeling Through the Dark. p. 54.
- ^ Cochin, Ira (1963). Analysis and Design of the Gyroscope for Inertial Guidance. p. 143.
- ^ Kozicki, Michael; Hoenig, Stuart A.; Robinson, Patrick J. (1991). Cleanrooms: Facilities and Practices.
- ^ "The Inside Story on Outdoor Gear". Popular Science. Vol. 238, no. 5. May 1991. p. 82.
- ISBN 9780521570794.
- ^ Cynthia Townley Ewer (2009). Houseworks. p. 139.
- ^ Jeff Bredenberg (1999). Clean It Fast, Clean It Right. pp. 235–236.
- ISBN 9780070350786.
- ISBN 9781594865770.
- ^ Wes Clark,"Everyday Household Materials Yield Toxic Smoke", FireAvert, 17 April 2015.
- ^ Pleasant, Barbara; Martin, Deborah L. (2008). The Complete Compost Gardening Guide. p. 128.
- ISBN 9781420068214.
- ISBN 9781420068214.
- ^ Mozayani, Ashraf; Noziglia, Carla (2006). The Forensic Laboratory Handbook: Procedures and Practice. p. 266.
- ISBN 9781420068214.
- ^ Sweeney, Michael; Mayor, Mireya; Kayal, Michele (2009). National Geographic Complete Survival Manual. p. 46.
- ^ "Notes of a European Tour". Buffalo Medical Journal. 2: 397. 1846.
External links and further reading
- Barker, Graham. "World record navel lint collection". feargod.net.
- "Bellybutton Lint Collecters". craftbits.com. 10 September 2007.
- Kruszelnicki, Karl (2001). "The Great Bellybutton Lint Survey". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Q & A with Dr K.