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The best fabric shavers for restoring your summer wardrobe
Keep your favourite clothes looking good for longer
Tested by Blossom BoothroydHomes Testing Manager
Pilling can quickly transform your favourite clothes from smart to shabby. However, help is at hand. Instead of painstakingly picking each bobble off your beloved jumper one at a time, the best fabric shavers (also known as debobblers) are able to swiftly remove them, leaving garments looking as good as new.
At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we wanted to know if fabric shavers were truly worth a spot in our clothes care line-up. So, our experts raided their wardrobes and put a selection to the test to find out. Keep scrolling for their full verdicts.
How we test fabric shavers
Our Good Housekeeping Institute experts gathered together their bobbliest jumpers and set to work to see which fabric shaver produced the neatest results.
Each device is used on cashmere, merino wool, lambswool and polyester. Our testers first see how much it removes in one sweep from a set area of pilling, before assessing how long it takes to remove all pilling from the same area. Throughout testing, our experts consider each product’s ease of use and design, including whether it’s neat to use and how comfortable it is to handle. They also assess the clarity of any instructions.
These are the models to turn to for a long-lasting wardrobe.
Score: 92/100
This egg-shaped debobbler received glowing praise from our in-house textiles expert. They said it was comfortable to hold and cut through piling with ease – from cashmere to polyester and lambswool. Most garments looked as good as new after a quick pass, with a few more goes needed occasionally to catch smaller, stubborn bobbles.
It was neat to use, collecting all the lint inside, and you can see inside to check when it needs emptying. Opening it was slightly fiddly to master at first, but our expert got used to it after a few attempts.
It's rechargeable, and the battery lasted 90 minutes on test, recharging quickly too. Plus, a low battery indicator means you won't be caught by surprise. It's a clothes care superstar.
Read our homes editor's full Philips Fabric Shaver review
Key specifications
| Designed for | All garments - head is designed to protect even delicate garments |
|---|---|
| Type | Electric fabric shaver |
| Power source | Rechargeable via USB – battery lasts up to 90 minutes |
| Accessories | Cleaning brush, blade cover |
Score: 92/100
Giving your clothes the TLC they deserve is easy with this intuitive fabric shaver. Testers praised its ergonomic design, which made the whole debobbling process comfortable, even when tackling a big pile of jumpers. The good-sized head meant they covered a lot of fabric swiftly too – although it does make it slightly tricky to access tight seams.
On test, it lifted bobbles from most of our clothes in just one to two sweeps and earned full marks for how it handled cashmere and polyester. It was a high performer for merino and lambswool too. After you’ve tidied up all your garments, emptying the lint container is faff free and the accompanying cleaning brush helps to collect up any stray debris. It's a satisfying and simple tool.
Key specifications
| Designed for | All fabrics |
|---|---|
| Type | Electric fabric shaver |
| Power source | Rechargeable via USB cable – battery lasts for up to 45 minutes |
| Accessories | Cleaning brush |
Score: 88/100
This electric fabric shaver removed pilling with ease across cashmere, merino wool and more, making it ideal if your wardrobe is full of different fabrics. Testers liked that its well-sized head could cover a large surface area quickly and it tackles all sizes of pilling as it goes.
They found it simple to use thanks to an ergonomic handle and an internal waste bin that trapped removed lint, keeping everything tidy. It also emptied easily. It comes with two batteries to operate, a cleaning brush and a height adjustment cap for delicate textiles. Handily if this is your first fabric shaver, the accompanying instructions are clear too.
Key specifications
| Designed for | All fabrics |
|---|---|
| Type | Electric fabric shaver |
| Power source | Two AA batteries |
| Accessories | Safety cap and cleaning brush |
Gleener Fuzz Remover 2 in 1 Clothes De-Piller and Lint Brush
Score: 83/100
Does the thought of taking electric blades to your favourite jumpers make you feel nervous? Then this manual debobbler is an excellent alternative. Despite requiring a touch more work to achieve the desired results, it did a great job of freshening up fabrics, particularly with merino wool, lambswool and polyester. Plus, it has three different heads so you can tailor it to different textiles, and there’s no worrying about batteries or recharging.
Testers found its handle comfortable and said it was good at getting into corners and seams. It requires more clean-up since you need to collect fluff as you go, but it does have an integrated lint brush to speed this up. It comes with detailed instructions, and you can store it neatly in an accompanying travel pouch.
Key specifications
| Designed for | All fabrics apart from embroidered fabric, very delicate fabric or loose weave knits |
|---|---|
| Type | Manual |
| Power source | N/A |
| Accessories | Storage bag, three adjustable heads |
Steamery Pilo 2 Fabric Shaver
Score: 82/100
For a de-piller that looks as sleek as the garments it’s working on, look no further than this premium electric model. It's rechargeable, so you don’t need to worry about batteries, but you still benefit from added power.
Testers found the debobbler’s large head covered their garments quickly, reliably removing pilling within a few sweeps. It worked the fastest on polyester, and all our wool was left looking refreshed. Note that while the lint is stored within the body, our testers recommend cleaning the blades regularly during use to prevent clogging. Otherwise, it’s another great buy for beginners with clear instructions, making it a trusty wardrobe addition.
Key specifications
| Designed for | All fabrics |
|---|---|
| Type | Electric fabric shaver |
| Power source | Rechargeable via a USB – charge lasts for up to two hours |
| Accessories | Cleaning brush and charging cable |
Score: 71/100
If you’ve got a whole wardrobe in need of TLC, we wouldn’t recommend this comb as you’ll be working for a while. That said, if you need a debobbler for small touch-ups on the go, the compact design is ideal.
As it’s entirely manual, you have to put some effort in for the best results, and because it has just one texture, it's not suitable for more delicate fabrics. But for knitwear, testers found their jumpers started to look noticeably revived after a few sweeps. We found it wasn’t too messy to use either. One to keep in your bag or suitcase.
Key specifications
| Designed for | Knitwear and cashmere |
|---|---|
| Type | Cashmere comb |
| Power source | N/A |
| Accessories | None |
What is a fabric shaver and how do they work?
Put simply, fabric shavers get rid of pilling (aka bobbles) that forms on clothes –usually in areas like underneath the arms where there’s more tension during wear. You can also use them on other textiles such as blankets.
On our list below, you’ll find two different types of de-piller: electric models that have blades to cut the bobbles away and manual ones in the form of a comb or roller that act more like a manual razor to pull away the pilling.
While they both achieve similar results, electric devices will usually collect the lint up into a bin as they go, making them a neater choice. With manual shavers, you'll need to gather the cutaway fibres separately, adding in an extra step. Our testers particularly liked the manual Gleener De-Piller as it also features a built-in lint roller to help with this.
Whichever type you opt for, you need to be careful to avoid damaging delicate fabrics or wearing them down too much. Hold your fabric taut if you're using an electric fabric shaver to avoid cutting any holes, and pass the shaver lightly over your garments. Manual models tend to require more sweeps to remove all pilling fully, so again, use them gently to avoid stretching your fabric.
The verdict on fabric shavers
If you're wondering about whether you need a fabric shaver, our answer would be a resounding yes. The nifty gadgets can give your garments numerous new leases of life, and care for those treasured pieces.
In terms of which we'd recommend, the new Philips 1000 Series Fabric Shaver shot straight to the top of our list for its impressive performance on test.
It shares the podium top spot with another electric shaver – the Salter Cordless Lint Remover. Both are stellar buys; the Philips has a longer battery life, while the Salter is cheaper.
Or if you want something manual, opt for Gleener's Fuzz Remover 2 in 1 Clothes De-Piller and Lint Brush. It's versatile and effective, and you'll never need to worry about battery life.
If you’re replacing an existing fabric shaver, there are plenty of places for you to safely recycle your old one. Find your nearest electrical recycling point, or read our guide on how to donate or dispose of your appliances and tech for extra guidance.
Why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute
Helping to extend the life of your clothes and caring for your wardrobe in a more sustainable way is one of homes editor Hannah Mendelsohn's specialist subjects, so she couldn't wait to get the team testing fabric shavers and to share their findings with you.
The protocols were created with the help of our homes testing manager Blossom Boothroyd, based on her years of experience testing hundreds of gadgets as you would use them at home.
More Tried & Tested reviews
We've also tested the best clothes steamers and best steam irons to help you care for your wardrobe.
24 April 2025: We checked stock levels and updated prices to reflect the latest deals.
8 July 2025: This article was updated with the latest Amazon Prime Day deals.
Hannah is our homes editor, specialising in reviewing the latest kitchen appliances, cleaning products, mattresses and bedding, and crafting equipment. Hannah has written about hundreds of products, from air fryers to smoothie makers to pillows, and is committed to finding the most reliable and best value for money buys.
Hannah is also interested in sustainability in the home and has completed a course with the University of the Arts London in sustainable textiles, so she can help cut through the noise on what’s green and what’s not. Hannah has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously worked as a freelance lifestyle and women’s sports journalist, working for Stylist, Sky Sports and more.
Hannah has also previously worked in a florist and can normally be found caring for her house plants or sewing something new for her home or wardrobe.
Blossom is passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for GH readers. As head of the homes testing team, she has led reviews across multiple categories, from pizza ovens, and smart plugs to portable fans and hobs. She enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols to ensure we’re testing them against their claims. Her aim is to find the top-performing products on the market, to help take the hard work out of housework. Blossom’s most notable accomplishment in the lab has been toasting 528 slices of bread in her quest to find the best toasters money can buy. In her free time, she openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
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