How Do You Wash Fiberglass Out of Clothing?
Remove fiberglass from clothing by brushing the dry garment, machine washing using soap on a warm temperature setting and machine drying. The process sometimes requires the clothing to go through the wash cycle multiple times to eliminate all the fibers.
After working with fiberglass, use caution that fibers do not contaminate other clothing or fabrics in the home. Consider disrobing in the garage or another room where the fibers are easily contained, and avoid placing the affected clothing on top of other items. Once the clothing is off, brushing with a stiff brush, such as one made with boar’s hair, helps remove some of the fibers from the clothes. Sweep or vacuum the area to prevent tracking fibers into other areas.
Washing fiberglass-contaminated clothing with other clothes often transfers the fibers, so wash them separately, using the warmest water safe for the fabric. Machine drying helps loosen fibers trapped in the clothes.
Fibers are likely to remain inside the machines once they finish their cycles. Before starting another load of laundry, it is essential to wipe the inside of both machines using a damp towel. Empty the lint filter for both machines to prevent cross-contamination. While it is easy to remove contamination from compressed fiberglass projects, for those using loose fiberglass, such as that in insulation, the process becomes more complex.
